Effects of upper-body plyometric training on upper-body sport-specific strength and forehand loop shot quality in adolescent table tennis players: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives This study aimed to compare the effects of plyometric training and traditional resistance training on upper-body sport-specific strength and stroke quality in adolescent table tennis athletes. Methods Thirty-two adolescent athletes from the Liaoning Province Table Tennis Team were randomly assigned to either the Plyometric Training (PT) group (n = 16) or the Resistance Training (RT) group (n = 16) and underwent an 8-week training intervention. Upper-body sport-specific strength was assessed using the Standing Rotational Medicine Ball Throw, while the table tennis Hawk-Eye intelligent training system was used to measure indicators such as ball speed, spin rate, spin quality, and landing point control for the forehand backspin loop shot. Results Significant interaction effects between time and group were observed for standing rotational medicine ball throw performance, ball speed, spin rate, and spin quality ( p < 0.05), indicating greater improvements in the PT group than in the RT group. No significant interaction effect between time and group was found for placement score ( p > 0.05). Conclusion Compared with traditional resistance training, upper-body plyometric training was associated with greater improvements in upper-body sport-specific strength and forehand loop shot quality in adolescent table tennis athletes, particularly in ball speed, spin rate, and spin quality. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because biological maturation was not directly assessed.