Running Head: THE EFFECT OF FOCUS ON TABLE TENNIS PERFORMANCE Page |1

The

Effect of Focus
on
Table Tennis Performance

Jeremy Cains
Scientific Investigation
Daramalan College
March 2018

Aim
To investigate if having a focused mind changes power and accuracy of table tennis shots.
THE EFFECT OF FOCUS ON TABLE TENNIS PERFORMANCE Page |2

Hypothesis
It is predicted that improved focus will provide a faster ball speed and a more accurate
shot. This is because the brain can think more about the technique and strategies the
person can use to hit the ball, and therefore come up with the most useful technique for
that situation. Sports with higher skill levels such as table tennis require higher levels of
focus, so the more focused person will have an advantage in a game.
Gould et al. (1992) found that concentration was highly correlated to performance.
According to Moran (2004) successful athletes are better at staying focused. This makes it
seem logical that a focused table tennis player would play better than a distracted one.

Introduction
It is generally accepted in the sporting community that focus is essential for good
performance. One website even said that “Staying focused in sport is one of the key pillars
of athletic performance” (Malone, 2018). A number articles and websites online claim to
improve focus in sport, and they all say focus is essential, but do not provide any
evidence.
A sportsperson’s focus is taking cues from their surroundings that can help them in their
sport (Taylor, 2010). Prime focus is the ability to only pay attention to the factors that can
help them, while poor focus is focusing on irrelevant cues, which distracts the person
(Taylor, 2010). This investigation will test whether irrelevant cues in the table tennis
players attention field will alter the player’s performance to be at a lower level.
Research in the past decade has shown the importance of focus in many different sports,
including sprinting and tennis, yet there has been little research into whether focus is
required for table tennis, and if it is, to what extent. Sometimes it can seem that focusing
on every part of the technique can reduce performance. This is true: it has been shown
that having an internal focus (focusing on individual technique) is not as desirable as an
external focus (focusing on things outside the player’s control).

Equipment
 A standard sized table tennis table
 Multiple standard table tennis balls of the same model, in case they break
 A 330mm tall stand with a straw at the top for the ball to rest upon
 A table tennis bat
 A computer

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For Part 2:
 A black A3 sheet of paper
 Corn flour or similar
 A bottle lid

Method
Part 1:

Speed
1. The table was arranged as it is in Figure 1.
2. The stand was placed on the centre line of
the table, 1340mm away from the opposite
table.
3. The ball was placed on the stand as in
Figure 6.
4. The person hit the ball with the bat into the
opposite table as hard as they could. This
Figure １The setup of the
sometimes lead to the ball breaking, as can
table
be seen in Figure 7. Video 1 shows what
hitting the ball was like, at https://youtu.be/3uiNRmiYIuk.
5. Sound of the event was recorded. Using the spikes of amplitude in the
recording, times of when the ball was hit with the bat and when the ball hit the
table was used to measure the speed. A typical recording is shown in Figure 2.
The times are marked in Figure 3.
6. Steps 3-5 were each completed 10 times.

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7. Steps 3-6 were repeated at a different time to eliminate fatigue, but before the
person hit the ball they were told to spell a difficult word, chosen at random
from Table 1. The word was chosen at random from Table 1. Then a timer was
played from the computer and at the end they hit the ball. The specific one
used was found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-VoReTNT1A.

Figure 2 The waveform of a typical recording

Figure 3 The waveform with the times of the hits marked

Part 2:

Accuracy
1. The table was set out in the normal fashion, but without the net so the focus could
be more intense.
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2. The stand was placed near the right corner of the table
3. The black paper was covered in corn flour and was placed 2600mm away from the
opposite table, with the diagonal between it and the stand going through the
midpoint of the two table halves. The bottle lid was placed on the middle of paper.
4. The ball was placed on the stand as in Figure 6. Figure 4 shows what this looked
like.
5. The person was hit the ball as close to the bottle lid as they could.
6. Steps 4 and 5 were completed 20 times, but every second time they had to spell the
word chosen at random from Table 1 and hit the ball at the end of the timer, like
what happened in Step 7 of Part 1.
7. The ball left a mark in the corn flour, and the distance between the bottle lid and
the mark was measured. This can be seen in Figure 5. If the distance was over

Figure 5: The black spots are where the ball

Figure 4: The setup of the table landed

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310mm it could not be measured since it was off the table or too far away for an
accurate measurement.

Figure 6: The ball on the straw

Figure 7: The ball broke three times

Words
'Abaciscus' 'Abatjour' 'Abattoir' 'Abecedarian' 'Abeyant' 'Absorbefacient'
'Acaulescent' 'Accoucheur' 'Acquiesce' 'Aerogramme' 'Affenpinscher' 'Afrikaans'

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'Ageusia' 'Albescent' 'Alette' 'Amethyst' 'Amphitheater' 'Ampullaceous'

'Anathematize' 'Androgynous' 'Ankh' 'Anopheles' 'Apartheid' 'Appaloosa'
'Aqueous' 'Armoire' 'Arrhythmia' 'Ascetic' 'Aurochs' 'Autocephalous'
'Avuncular' 'Azimuth' 'Babiche' 'Bacchanal' 'Bacciferous' 'Badinage'
'Bagatelle' 'Bagheera' 'Baize' 'Baksheesh' 'Banquette' 'Bassarisk'
'Bdellium' 'Bellwether' 'Beneficence' 'Beriberi' 'Beryllium' 'Bight'
'Bludgeon' 'Boudoir' 'Bouffant' 'Brooch' 'Bucolic' 'Bumbershoot'
'Cacophony' 'Caique' 'Caliph' 'Cantle' 'Carillon' 'Carrefour'
'Cartouche' 'Casque' 'Catafalque' 'Catarrh' 'Caterwaul' 'Cauterize'
'Cayuse' 'Ceraceous' 'Chancre' 'Chattel' 'Chlorofluorocarbon' 'Cirrhosis'
'Claque' 'Colonnade' 'Contemn' 'Continuum' 'Convivial' 'Copacetic'
'Corporeity' 'Cuirass' 'Culottes' 'Dahlia' 'Daguerreotype' 'Deign'
'Demagoguery' 'Demesne' 'Demitasse' 'Desiccate' 'Dhow' 'Diaphanous'
'Dilettante' 'Dinghy' 'Dispossess' 'Dormouse' 'Doubloon' 'Dysentery'
'Ecru' 'Edelweiss' 'Egregious' 'Emphysema' 'Ephemeral' 'Epiphany'
'Equestrienne' 'Ersatz' 'Escutcheon' 'Euchre' 'Eviscerate' 'Exsiccate'
'Facetious' 'Fasciation' 'Fiefdom' 'Finagle' 'Fizgig' 'Flaccid'
'Fluxion' 'Formaldehyde' 'Frankincense' 'Fricassee' 'Frieze' 'Fulsome'
'Fusillade' 'Gabardine' 'Gallimaufry' 'Garrote' 'Gesundheit' 'Gewgaw'
'Ghillie' 'Glaucescent' 'Glyph' 'Gneiss' 'Gnome' 'Gnosis'
'Godet' 'Golliwogg' 'Grandiloquence' 'Guillemot' 'Gyve' 'Habiliments'
'Hackamore' 'Halcyon' 'Halophyte' 'Handbreadth' 'Hartebeest' 'Hegemony'
'Hematozoon' 'Herbage' 'Hierarchy' 'Hieroglyphic' 'Hirsute' 'Histrionic'
'Hoatzin' 'Hootenanny' 'Horripilation' 'Howdah' 'Hoyden' 'Hydrangea'
'Hydrofluoric' 'Hyena' 'Hyperpyrexia' 'Hypnotize' 'Hypotenuse' 'Ichneumon'
'Ichthyophagist' 'Idiosyncrasy' 'Impeccable' 'Imprecise' 'Incise' 'Indubitable'
'Inexorable' 'Ingurgitate' 'Iniquitous' 'Innuendo' 'Inscrutable' 'Insomnolence'
'Intermezzo' 'Interregnum' 'Intransigent' 'Inveigle' 'Inveigh' 'Irascible'
'Jalousie' 'Jambalaya' 'Jocose' 'Juvenescent' 'Kepi' 'Kinkajou'
'Klaxon' 'Klieg' 'Kowtow' 'Lacerate' 'Lachrymal' 'Languid'
'Layette' 'Legerdemain' 'Licit' 'Limn' 'Locus' 'Loquacious'
'Lucent' 'Lynx' 'Macaque' 'Maelstrom' 'Manatee' 'Maraud'
'Marionette' 'Marten' 'Mastiff' 'Matriarch' 'Mellifluous' 'Menace'
'Mendacious' 'Meringue' 'Mesmerize' 'Metamorphose' 'Meticulous' 'Mezzanine'
'Microcosm' 'Millenium' 'Mnemonic' 'Mocha' 'Monocoque' 'Morass'
'Morose' 'Mote' 'Mottle' 'Mufti' 'Multiplicand' 'Munificent'
'Myrrh' 'Naphtha' 'Narcissism' 'Nascent' 'Nebulous' 'Neigh'
'Nemesis' 'Newt' 'Nexus' 'Niche' 'Nigh' 'Nihilism'
'Nonce' 'Nouveau' 'Obeisance' 'Objurgate' 'Obloquy' 'Obsequious'
'Obstreperous' 'Occlude' 'Oleaginous' 'Omniscience' 'Onerous' 'Opalesce'
'Opprobrious' 'Ostracism' 'Oxymoron' 'Pachyderm' 'Paean' 'Panacea'
'Panache' 'Panegyric' 'Panoply' 'Papyrus' 'Pariah' 'Parlance'
'Parry' 'Parsec' 'Patella' 'Peccadillo' 'Peccary' 'Peignoir'
'Pendulous' 'Penultimate' 'Penury' 'Perfidy' 'Perihelion' 'Perniciou'
'Perquisite' 'Perspicuous' 'Pestle' 'Pharmaceutical' 'Phlegmatic' 'Pique'
'Piranha' 'Pirogue' 'Pirouette' 'Plagiarize' 'Platypus' 'Plebeian'
'Plebiscite' 'Polychrome' 'Posit' 'Precocious' 'Precursor' 'Prescience'
'Propitious' 'Psilosis' 'Psoriasis' 'Ptosis' 'Pulchritude' 'Pyrrhic'
'Quadriceps' 'Quadrille' 'Quay' 'Querulous' 'Quiescent' 'Quinella'
'Quirt' 'Quoin' 'Quotidian' 'Rapier' 'Rappel' 'Rarefy'
'Raucous' 'Ravenous' 'Recalcitrant' 'Redoubtable' 'Regurgitate' 'Reparable'
'Repartee' 'Repugn' 'Reticent' 'Reveille' 'Rheumatism' 'Rhinoceros'
'Ricochet' 'Riposte' 'Rococo' 'Rogue' 'Roil' 'Roseate'
'Rough' 'Rouse' 'Ruse' 'Saboteur' 'Saccharin' 'Sacroiliac'
'Sacrosanct' 'Sagacious' 'Saguaro' 'Salaam' 'Sanguinary' 'Sarsaparilla'
'Satiate' 'Satyr' 'Schiffli' 'Schism' 'Schlock' 'Schuss'
'Scimitar' 'Scintillate' 'Scorpioid' 'Scrimshaw' 'Scrivener' 'Scythe'
'Sebaceous' 'Secede' 'Sedulous' 'Segue' 'Seismicity' 'Seneschal'
'Sentient' 'Septuagenarian' 'Sequacious' 'Sequester' 'Serendipity' 'Serge'
'Serrate' 'Setaceous' 'Severance' 'Sexton' 'Sheaf' 'Shoal'
'Sibyl' 'Sieve' 'Skein' 'Skink' 'Sleazy' 'Sloe'
'Sluice' 'Solecism' 'Soliloquy' 'Sorcerer' 'Sorghum' 'Speciesism'
'Specious' 'Sphinx' 'Spinet' 'Squalor' 'Squeegee' 'Staid'
'Stanchion' 'Stiletto' 'Strafe' 'Strontium' 'Strychnine' 'Sturgeon'
'Subcutaneous' 'Submersible' 'Suffrutescent' 'Surcease' 'Surfeit' 'Suzerain'
'Svelte' 'Sycamore' 'Sycophancy' 'Sylph' 'Syncopate' 'Tabasco'
'Tachymeter' 'Taciturn' 'Tactician' 'Taffeta' 'Talisman' 'Tallow'
'Talon' 'Tamarind' 'Tamburitza' 'Tanager' 'Tankard' 'Tapir'
'Tarantella' 'Tarantula' 'Tariff' 'Tarot' 'Tarry' 'Taupe'
'Taut' 'Taw' 'Tawny' 'Taxable' 'Teak' 'Tempestuous'
'Tenacious' 'Tenement' 'Tenet' 'Tequila' 'Termagant' 'Tern'
'Terrarium' 'Tertiary' 'Testatrix' 'Tetrabrach' 'Thalassic' 'Thence'
'Theocracy' 'Therapeutics' 'Thoracic' 'Thought' 'Thrall' 'Threshold'
'Tiara' 'Timbre' 'Tinct' 'Titillate' 'Tizzy' 'Tofu'

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'Tome' 'Toque' 'Tortoise' 'Tortuous' 'Toucan' 'Toupee'

'Tourniquet' 'Traduce' 'Traipse' 'Travois' 'Treacle' 'Triskaidekaphobia'
'Troglodyte' 'Troika' 'Trousseau' 'Truculent' 'Truncheon' 'Tryst'
'Tumescent' 'Ubiquitous' 'Umlaut' 'Unconscionable' 'Unrequited' 'Unwonted'
'Vacillate' 'Vacuous' 'Variscite' 'Ventriloquism' 'Verisimilitude' 'Vertebrae'
'Vertiginous' 'Vexillology' 'Vicissitude' 'Villein' 'Virescent' 'Viscera'
'Viscid' 'Vociferous' 'Vorticity' 'Waterborne' 'Whet' 'Whippoorwill'
'Widgeon' 'Wildebeest' 'Wok' 'Wraith' 'Xenophobe' 'Xyster'
'Xylose' 'Ytrium' 'Yurt' 'Zephyr' 'Zinciferous' 'Zoanthropy'
'Zoopraxiscope' 'Zucchetto'

Table 1: All the words that could have been chosen

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Results
Part 1: Speed
Focused
Hit time (s) 4.5678 2.8778 3.2889 3.1962 2.272 3.0517 2.7053 2.6175 2.5118 2.1388
Bounce time(s) 4.5182 2.8262 3.2418 3.1442 2.2199 3.0034 2.6499 2.561 2.4608 2.0814
Difference(s) 0.0496 0.0516 0.0471 0.052 0.0521 0.0483 0.0554 0.0565 0.051 0.0574
Distance
covered(mm) 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340
mm/s 27016.129 25968.992 28450.106 25769.231 25719.77 27743.271 24187.726 23716.814 26274.51 23344.948
27.01612 25.96899 28.45010 25.76923 27.74327 24.18772 23.71681 23.34494
m/s 9 2 6 1 25.71977 1 6 4 26.27451 8
km/h 97.258065 93.488372 102.42038 92.769231 92.591171 99.875776 87.075812 85.380531 94.588235 84.041812
Average (m/s) 25.81915

Average (km/h) 92.948939

Standard Deviation 1.6833216

Distracted
Hit time(s) 9.0558 10.6203 9.8433 9.3408 8.6926 9.1497 13.4918 8.8582 9.1321 9.7345
Bounce time(s) 8.9872 10.5209 9.7662 9.2334 8.6208 9.0646 13.4129 8.7698 9.0544 9.6569
Difference(s) 0.0686 0.0994 0.0771 0.1074 0.0718 0.0851 0.0789 0.0884 0.0777 0.0776
Distance
covered(mm) 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340 1340
mm/s 19533.528 13480.885 17380.026 12476.723 18662.953 15746.181 16983.523 15158.371 17245.817 17268.041
19.53352 13.48088 17.38002 12.47672 18.66295 15.74618 16.98352 15.15837 17.24581 17.26804
m/s 8 5 6 3 3 1 3 1 7 1
km/h 70.3207 48.531187 62.568093 44.916201 67.18663 56.686251 61.140684 54.570136 62.084942 62.164948
16.39360
Average (m/s) 5

Average (km/h) 59.016977

THE EFFECT OF FOCUS ON TABLE TENNIS PERFORMANCE P a g e | 10

Standard Deviation 2.2008042

Table 2: Results of Part 1

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Running Head: THE EFFECT OF FOCUS ON TABLE TENNIS PERFORMANCE P a g e | 11

AVERAGE SPEED OF TABLE

TENNIS BALL
Distracted Focused

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Speed of the ball (m/s)

Chart 1

Part 2: Accuracy
Distance from target (mm)
Trial Focused Distracted
1 88 310
2 21 285
3 130 184
4 34 205
5 191 310
6 198 128
7 84 310
8 124 83
9 132 310
10 308 294
Average Distance from Target (mm) 131 241.9
Standard Deviation 85.007189 85.673087
Table 3: Results of Part 2
THE EFFECT OF FOCUS ON TABLE TENNIS PERFORMANCE P a g e | 12

AVERAGE DISTANCE
FROM THE TARGET
Distracted Focused

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Distance from target (mm)

Chart 2

Discussion
It is clear to see that focus does have a large effect on the power and accuracy of a table
tennis player. The shots were significantly more powerful and more accurate, just as the
hypothesis predicted. It also agrees with other research done on other sports, such as
tennis, which says that external focus greatly improved decision making (Tsetseli et al.,
2016).
In both cases the focused person performed better, with the average speed of the ball
being about 9m/s faster when the person was focused, rather than distracted.
Furthermore, the standard deviation was 0.6 lower, meaning that the shots were more
consistent, which is desirable.
The accuracy of shots also decreased when the person was distracted. The standard
deviation of the accuracy was surprisingly similar, only differed by 0.6, which, although
this is very similar to the standard deviation of the speed, it is still unexpected because
they were already so much higher. This could be explained by the player being an
amateur.
Focus is important to sport as the brain needs know what messages it needs to send to
parts of the body responsible for committing the actions required. If the brain is not on
task of assessing what the body needs to do for the best outcome, it will produce deficient
messages that are not fully thought through, and the body will perform worse than if it
had known the best options.
The speed results were not very accurate, as the minimum distance the ball could have
travelled was 1340mm, quite a long distance. This means that the actual travelled distance
was over 1340mm, considering gravity, the slight wind and human inaccurate hitting (and
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the distracted person was less accurate to start with, and so hit it further). Since the
distance travelled was something over 1340mm, it means that the real speed was indeed
greater than the recorded speeds.
To combat these inaccuracies, one would need either very high-speed cameras (360
frames per second was not enough) or a radar gun to get accurate speeds. The sound
method was the only one plausible after attempts of high-speed videos and measuring the
blur of a photo were realised not realistic.
If this investigation were to be repeated, it is recommended that more than one person is
tested, including people of different sexes. One person can provide an idea, but more
would be needed for a more solid understanding.
These findings are significant since having the mind on the sport or something can
meaningfully change the outcome of a game. It is important for someone playing table
tennis, and probably other similar sports, to have a clear mind before playing a game.

Conclusion
As this investigation has demonstrated, focus is a critical part of the ability to hit fast and
exact shots in table tennis. The focused player will hit shots with greater speed and
accurate shots.

References
Taylor, J. (2010). Sports: Understanding Focus in Sports. [online] psychologytoday.com.
Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201007/sports-
understanding-focus-in-sports [Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].

Tsetseli, M., Zetou, E., Vernadakis, N. and Michalopoulou, M. (2016). The effect of internal
and external focus of attention on game performance in tennis. [online] gymnica.upol.cz.
Available at: https://gymnica.upol.cz/artkey/gym-201604-
0002_The_effect_of_internal_and_external_focus_of_attention_on_game_performance_i
n_tennis.php [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

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THE EFFECT OF FOCUS ON TABLE TENNIS PERFORMANCE P a g e | 14

Porter JM, e. (2015). Adopting an external focus of attention improves sprinting

performance in low-skilled sprinters. - PubMed - NCBI . [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811269 [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Wulf G, e. (2001). The automaticity of complex motor skill learning as a function of

attentional focus. - PubMed - NCBI . [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11765737 [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Sims, B. (2010). Focus of Attention Influences Elite Athletes Sprinting Performance. [online]
Opensiuc.lib.siu.edu. Available at:
http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=gs_rp [Accessed 28
Mar. 2018].

Malone, S. (2018). Concentration: Staying focused in sport is one of the key pillars of
athletic performance. [online] Sport Science Blog. Available at:
https://shanemalone01.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/concentration-staying-focused-in-
sport-is-one-of-the-key-pillars-of-athletic-performance/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Acknowledgements
Lance Court – Grandfather, discussed the methods of measuring the speed of a table
tennis ball
Barbara Court – Grandmother, gave recommendation of using corn flour because it is the
finest flour
Steve Cains – Father, helped measure the accuracy

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