Physical Fitness in Young Padel Players: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the fitness characteristics and to identify the influence of gender and practice experience between young amateur padel players. A total of thirty-four padel players (n = 19 boys and 15 girls) aged 13 to 17 years old (age 14.6 ± 1.5 years; body mass 63.4 ± 14.5 kg; height 166.6 ± 9.8 cm; 6.2 ± 2.5 padel experience) volunteered to participate. Body composition was assessed by bioimpedance. Change of direction and agility were evaluated by two padel-adapted tests. Upper-limb strength measurement included overhead and side medicine ball throws with dominant and non-dominant hands. One-way ANCOVA was used to determine whether there were significant differences between gender and experience on fitness variables adjusting for age as a covariate. Male and female young padel players presented an apparently healthy body composition and exhibited similar performance in all fitness tests except for jumping ability. Practice experience seemed to influence upper-limb throwing strength, however, sub-analyses revealed no conclusive results. These results contribute to the existing knowledge in padel by providing new data about the fitness status of amateur young players aged 13 to 17 years old and open a window for future interventions using padel as a health promotion tool among youths.

Gender Differences in Neuromuscular, Haematological and Urinary Responses during Padel Matches

“…While playing high-intensity intermittent sports, recovery periods play a key role in limiting fatigue [ 21 ]. Moreover, the gender differences found for the jump variables agree with those previously obtained in padel players, regardless of their level [ 4 , 51 ]. The significantly higher height/power values obtained by men in jumps versus women might be due to anthropometric and strength differences between both genders, a circumstance that also appears not only with high-level tennis and badminton players but also with other sport disciplines [ 52 ].…”

“…In recent years, padel sport practice has exponentially grown in Spain and elsewhere in the world for both genders [ 2 ]. This increase could lie in the various advantages that padel offers over other racket sports; for example, no special technical skills are required to start this sport, it can be played both indoors and outdoors, and padel materials are not expensive [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]. Interest in this sport has grown as different benefits for physical condition and body composition from regularly playing padel have been reported [ 6 ].…”

“…This means that strength, agility, and speed are important physical qualities to play this sport [ 10 ]. Compared to other racket sports, padel’s characteristics have drawn more researchers’ interest in recent years [ 4 , 10 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Match Analysis, Physical Training, Risk of Injury and Rehabilitation in Padel: Overview of the Literature

“…A total of 479 padel players with a different level of experience were included in the studies and 1098 matches were also analyzed. Most of the studies are cross-sectional ( n = 3) [ 7 , 10 , 15 ] and observational ( n = 12) [ 3 , 7 , 9 , 12 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]; studies on match analysis utilized the systematic observation of padel match videos from official channels. The current literature argues over four different aspects of padel: match analysis, anthropometric and physical fitness, the biological effects of padel matches on athletes, and the risk of injury and rehabilitative approaches.…”

“…The current literature argues over four different aspects of padel: match analysis, anthropometric and physical fitness, the biological effects of padel matches on athletes, and the risk of injury and rehabilitative approaches. Almost all the study included were from Spain ( n = 16) [ 3 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]; only one was from Sweden [ 26 ]. Ten of the included studies investigated game dynamics [ 3 , 9 , 12 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], of which one [ 12 ] analyzed the court zone involved in the attacking and defensive phase of the match; six studies [ 3 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] investigated padel strokes, highlighting that the smash is one of the most effective strokes with which to stop the rally; on the other hand, the lob is the most valid in a defensive position [ 20 ].…”