Analysis of contextual-related variables on serve and receiving performances in elite men’s and women’s table tennis players

The goal of the study was to identify the serve and reception effectiveness in relation to selected contextual-related variables in elite table tennis players. The sample comprised 140 matches from the men’s and women’s 2016 Olympic Games Tournament (N = 70, respectively). The contextual-related variables considered were: quality of opposition; the dominant hand of the players; match and set duration; biggest lead; most consecutive points in each set; deficit overcome; and previous set outcome. Bivariate correlations, independent samples comparisons, and multiple linear regressions were applied to identify the influence of contextual variables on performances when serving and receiving during the match/set. The analyses demonstrated that serving in table tennis does not necessarily provide a big advantage with points won when serving being only slightly higher than 50%. Performance when receiving was slightly below 50% and varied substantially as a consequence of contextual variables (e.g. biggest lead, most consecutive points, quality of opposition, great deficit overcome, and match duration) in men’s and women’s matches. The results highlight the importance of contextual variables on serve and reception performance in table tennis during the match. Implications in regard to coaching strategies and training programmes are discussed.