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Updated: Oct 19, 2026
Comparison of Kinetic Characteristics of Footwork during Stroke in Table Tennis: Cross-Step and Chasse Step
Published on: June 16, 2021
Delayed decision, harder landing: how mental fatigue alters reactive step biomechanics and joint loading in table
Qiang Li1, Lingyue Meng2,3, Yubo Wang2,3
1School of Sports Law, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
Mental fatigue (MF) is known to impair psychobiological performance, yet its cross-dimensional impact on the neuromechanical control of reactive athletic movements remains underexplored. This study investigated the effects of MF on the cognitive-temporal and lower-limb biomechanical characteristics of table tennis athletes executing a reactive chasse-step.
Methods:
Twenty-four collegiate table tennis athletes (12 males, 12 females) completed a randomized, counterbalanced crossover study. Participants performed a choice-reaction chasse-step forehand topspin task following either a 45-min stroop task (MF condition) or neutral documentary viewing (Control condition). Three-dimensional motion capture and force plates were synchronized to analyze cognitive-motor timing and lower-limb biomechanics across the initial landing, propulsion, and stabilization phases.
Results:
The Stroop task successfully induced significant subjective mental fatigue (d = 9.03). Behaviorally, MF was associated with a cognitive-motor time compression effect, significantly prolonging premotor time (d = 4.26) while reducing chasse-step completion time (d = 6.03). Biomechanically, the MF condition was characterized by a shift toward a "stiff landing" strategy, decreasing maximum ankle dorsiflexion during initial landing (d = 0.57) and minimum knee flexion during stabilization (d = 0.72). Kinetically, this reduced shock absorption was accompanied by substantial increases in peak vertical ground reaction force (d = 0.75), loading rate (d = 0.97), and medial-lateral ground reaction force (d = 0.93). Additionally, peak knee extension moments and proximal joint extension velocities were significantly reduced during the propulsion phase.
Conclusion:
MF is linked to a cognitive delay and motor compression cascade that alters the temporal structure of reactive footwork. This central resource depletion may lead athletes to adopt a rigid landing strategy, sacrificing shock absorption and propulsive efficiency. Consequently, MF is associated with elevated multi-planar joint impact forces, highlighting it as a potential biomechanical risk factor for lower-limb injuries. Ultimately, athletes' cognitive state should be integrated into routine monitoring to balance performance optimization and injury prevention in high-speed racket sports.
