Effects of Multiball Training on Forehand Serve Performance Among Male Junior High School Table Tennis Participants

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined whether a multiball training program improved forehand serve performance among male students participating in a junior high school table tennis extracurricular program.

Materials and Methods: A one-group pretest–posttest design was used with all 15 male table tennis extracurricular participants at SMP Negeri 7 Kota Bima, Indonesia. Participants completed 16 multiball training sessions, conducted three times per week for 60 minutes per session. Forehand serve performance was assessed over 10 attempts using target-zone accuracy scoring (0–5 points per attempt), with raw scores converted to a 0–100 scale. Data were summarized descriptively and analyzed using the Shapiro–Wilk test, a paired-samples t-test, and normalized gain (N-gain).

Results: Mean forehand serve performance increased from 44.93 ± 1.04 at pretest to 78.40 ± 0.82 at posttest, representing a mean improvement of 33.47 points. The improvement was statistically significant, t(14) = 51.802, p < .001. The N-gain was 0.61, indicating a moderate improvement relative to the maximum possible gain.

Conclusions: The 16-session multiball program was associated with a substantial improvement in forehand serve accuracy in this group. Multiball practice may therefore be a useful technique-focused option for school table tennis programs; however, the absence of a control group prevents a definitive causal conclusion.