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Main Authors: Jin, Pengfei, Ren, Jie, Yang, Chen, Kong, Qingtao, Zhang, Qingshan, Gu, Nan, Chen, Bin, Zhang, Qin, Feng, Zhe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07363
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author Jin, Pengfei
Ren, Jie
Yang, Chen
Kong, Qingtao
Zhang, Qingshan
Gu, Nan
Chen, Bin
Zhang, Qin
Feng, Zhe
author_facet Jin, Pengfei
Ren, Jie
Yang, Chen
Kong, Qingtao
Zhang, Qingshan
Gu, Nan
Chen, Bin
Zhang, Qin
Feng, Zhe
contents Background Following changes in table tennis ball materials, offensive returns have become more important for initiating sustained topspin offense. However, using the backhand flick (BF) to return forehand short balls often increases the difficulty of recovery and continuity, revealing a technical gap. This study preliminarily verified a novel forehand short return technique, the forehand reverse flick (FRF), and analyzed its similarities and differences with the BF. Methods Four elite athletes completed seven consecutive days of FRF specific training. Infrared motion capture and ultra-high-speed cameras were used to collect data on racket kinematics, movement duration, and ball performance. Results The success rate of the FRF increased steadily, reaching 86%. Racket trajectories of the two techniques were highly similar along the X (r = 1) and Y (r = 0.99) axes but differed along the Z (r = -0.04) axis. Racket and ball velocities were comparable between techniques, whereas the FRF showed lower resultant acceleration (approximately 265.57 m/s) and required about 0.03 s more for movement duration. Ball velocity was comparable between techniques, for the ball spin, the FRF generated lower spin (approximately 76.61 r/s) about 64% of the BF value (approximately 120.13 r/s). The highest participant mean spin rate reached 93 r/s, about 77% of the BF mean. Conclusion Overall, the FRF was found to have favorable learnability and training value, with potential for further optimization and competitive application.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_07363
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Pilot Kinematic Study on the Forehand Reverse Flick: Feasibility of a Novel Short Return Technique in Table Tennis
Jin, Pengfei
Ren, Jie
Yang, Chen
Kong, Qingtao
Zhang, Qingshan
Gu, Nan
Chen, Bin
Zhang, Qin
Feng, Zhe
Medical Physics
Biological Physics
Background Following changes in table tennis ball materials, offensive returns have become more important for initiating sustained topspin offense. However, using the backhand flick (BF) to return forehand short balls often increases the difficulty of recovery and continuity, revealing a technical gap. This study preliminarily verified a novel forehand short return technique, the forehand reverse flick (FRF), and analyzed its similarities and differences with the BF. Methods Four elite athletes completed seven consecutive days of FRF specific training. Infrared motion capture and ultra-high-speed cameras were used to collect data on racket kinematics, movement duration, and ball performance. Results The success rate of the FRF increased steadily, reaching 86%. Racket trajectories of the two techniques were highly similar along the X (r = 1) and Y (r = 0.99) axes but differed along the Z (r = -0.04) axis. Racket and ball velocities were comparable between techniques, whereas the FRF showed lower resultant acceleration (approximately 265.57 m/s) and required about 0.03 s more for movement duration. Ball velocity was comparable between techniques, for the ball spin, the FRF generated lower spin (approximately 76.61 r/s) about 64% of the BF value (approximately 120.13 r/s). The highest participant mean spin rate reached 93 r/s, about 77% of the BF mean. Conclusion Overall, the FRF was found to have favorable learnability and training value, with potential for further optimization and competitive application.
title A Pilot Kinematic Study on the Forehand Reverse Flick: Feasibility of a Novel Short Return Technique in Table Tennis
topic Medical Physics
Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07363