{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T16:59:54Z","timestamp":1790873994871,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>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.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>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.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The Stroop task successfully induced significant subjective mental fatigue (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f9.03). Behaviorally, MF was associated with a cognitive-motor time compression effect, significantly prolonging premotor time (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f4.26) while reducing chasse-step completion time (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f6.03). Biomechanically, the MF condition was characterized by a shift toward a \u201cstiff landing\u201d strategy, decreasing maximum ankle dorsiflexion during initial landing (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.57) and minimum knee flexion during stabilization (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.72). Kinetically, this reduced shock absorption was accompanied by substantial increases in peak vertical ground reaction force (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.75), loading rate (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.97), and medial-lateral ground reaction force (\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.93). Additionally, peak knee extension moments and proximal joint extension velocities were significantly reduced during the propulsion phase.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>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\u2019 cognitive state should be integrated into routine monitoring to balance performance optimization and injury prevention in high-speed racket sports.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1871714","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T16:08:02Z","timestamp":1790870882000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Delayed decision, harder landing: how mental fatigue alters reactive step biomechanics and joint loading in table tennis players"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Qiang","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Sports Law, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lingyue","family":"Meng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","place":["Champaign, IL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yubo","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","place":["Champaign, IL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yibo","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Law, Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, Anhui, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhekun","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1176","DOI":"10.1097\/00005768-200107000-00015","article-title":"Anticipatory effects on knee joint loading during running and cutting maneuvers","volume":"33","author":"Besier","year":"2001","journal-title":"Med. 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