Effects of technical-tactical skills on enhancing scoring efficiency when competing with opponents using different handedness in table tennis matchups

Technical-tactical skills are key to determining table tennis match performance. Identifying the skills that can increase scoring probability when competing against opponents with different racket handedness is vital. The aim of this study was to investigate the technical-tactical actions that could significantly improve scoring efficiency in SH (same-handedness) matches and OH (opposite-handedness) matches. The statistics of 72 top-level men's singles matches were collected (40 SH matches and 32 OH matches). An independent samples t-test was performed to evaluate the differences in the scoring efficiency of the point-winning shot. The results showed that the following maneuvers were crucial technical-tactical skills to increase scoring probability: (1) during the mutual-restriction phase, executing a forehand short push to forehand during service round and a backhand long push to backhand during receiving round against SH opponents (p