An external focus of attention enhances table tennis backhand stroke accuracy in low-skilled players

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of internal and external (proximal and distal) attentional focus on table tennis backhand stroke accuracy in low-skilled players. Fifty-one undergraduate physical education (PE) students were randomly assigned to 3 groups: Group G1 (IF) was instructed to focus on the hand holding the paddle, Group G2 (EFP) was instructed to focus on the ball, while Group G3 (EFD) was instructed to focus on targets marked on the tennis table. The experimental groups followed identical instructions except for the instruction about the focus of attention. Participants were asked to score as many points as possible by hitting the ball inside the three smallest targets marked on the tennis table. They were required to do so using a backhand stroke. The practice session consisted of 45 trials in three blocks of backhand (15 trials at each target). A special scoring system was used to determine the accuracy of the strokes. One of the most important findings from the current research was that groups with an external focus of attention revealed significant improvements in accuracy in the post-test, while the group with an internal focus of attention achieved low training effects. No significant difference was observed between G2 (EFP) and G3 (EFD) in the delayed retention test, which indicates that proximal and distal attentional focus had similar effects on table tennis backhand stroke accuracy in low-skilled players.