One of the features of sport games is the lack of stereotype in their actions: the actions of the athlete are determined by interactions with opponents or members of his/her own team; they are not regulated in advance and vary in accordance with the actions of partners and opponents. The psychological structure of game activity is characterized by a flexible joint of actions and operations which signifi-cantly distinguishes this activity from, for example, speed-strength sports. Playing table tennis is a variant of the antagonistic game activity with direct confrontation, with indirect physical contact. It is a difficult-coordinated activity in varied situations. The uncertainty of the conditions in this game activity is complicated by the rigid time limit and low information content of the actions of the opponent, which determines the complexity of technical and tactical tasks, continuously solved by the athlete during the game time. In this regard we consider it appropriate to analyze and reveal in this article the question of the display of mental qualities in the process of improving the preparation of students professionally involved in table tennis. The article also discusses the manifestations of perceptual-psychomotor reactions in terms of game activity of table tennis-players. The analysis of indicators of athletes’ mental skills is carried out.