Sex differences in professional padel players: analysis across four seasons

Padel is a modern doubles racket sport which has become popular around the world in the last decades. There has been an increase in the quantity of scientific research about this sport in the last years. Therefore, the main objective of this scoping review is to provide an updated contextualization of research regarding padel. PRISMA ScR was used in order to search for articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria in five fields of interest: the anthropometric profile, physiology and physical performance, biomechanics, the epidemiology of injuries, and match analyses Seventy-seven records were included in the study. Padel is an emerging sport both in sport and research terms. This scoping review provides coaches and researchers with all the knowledge available in the five fields of interest. Furthermore, this study enables them to make a map of the current state of the research about padel, and it opens up doors to future investigations.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Outcome Measures in Padel: A Scoping Review

García-Giménez

Fuente

Otín

et al. 2022

“…Therefore, it is essential that companies dedicated to the design and manufacturing of rackets take into account the gender of the player as a factor. Although previous research related to the characteristics of padel rackets was not found, several studies indicate that anthropometric and strength characteristics, which are different between men and women (taller men, with a higher percentage of muscle and higher levels of vertical jump and grip strength [ 23 , 24 ]), influence the style of play (men make more shots closer to the net, developing a more aggressive game, whereas women make more shots from the middle and back of the court, developing a more conservative game [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]) and this, in turn, is directly influenced by the characteristics of the racket. Men use more diamond-shaped carbon fiber rackets, which are heavier, with a hard core and with two or more over grips, whereas women use lighter round-shaped rackets, with a soft core and with one or no over grips.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence of Upper Body Injuries in Amateur Padel Players

Muñoz

Coronado

Gil

et al. 2022

Self Cite

The objectives of this study were to analyze the injuries suffered during the previous year by amateur padel players according to the characteristics of the racket, their usual volume of practice and their experience in padel. A total of 950 amateur players (X age: 31.68 years; X weight: 70.84 kg; X height: 170.9 cm) participated voluntarily, completing an ad-hoc questionnaire. The results indicated that the appearance of the injuries and their location was different according to the sex of the amateur padel players. Men had a higher incidence of muscle and ligament injuries in the shoulder, and tendon injuries in the elbow. On the other hand, women had a greater probability of having muscle injuries in the shoulder and arm, ligament injuries in the elbow and bone injuries in the wrist and elbow. In general, tendon injuries were the most common injury in padel and the shoulder and elbow were the most affected areas. Moreover, men tend to use heavy (CSR = 6.0), fiberglass or carbon (CSR = 2.1), diamond-shaped rackets (CSR = 3.2), with a hard core (CSR = 4.4) and with two or more over grips (CSR = 2.7). Women usually use less heavy (CSR = 6.0), round-shaped rackets (CSR = 4.9), with a soft core (CSR = 4.4) and with one or no over grips (CSR = 2.7). In addition, men tend to play padel more often and have been practicing for longer. In conclusion, although the risk of injury depends on many factors, we identified that the characteristics of the racket, the volume of weekly practice, the experience of the player and the gender of the player are fundamental aspects to take into account for the prevention of injuries in amateur padel players.

“…However, substantial differences in rally durations exist according to age, competition level or type [ 5 ]. Performance in padel was widely investigated in elite competitions [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], and scientific research has arisen to better understand the characteristics of padel in terms of anthropometrics, biomechanics, epidemiology, physiological requirements and match analysis [ 10 ]. In this regard, the literature shows controversial results about time-motion (TMA) and notational analysis (NA).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Padel Match Analysis: Notational and Time-Motion Analysis during Official Italian Sub-Elite Competitions

Ungureanu

Lupo

Brustio

2022

Although performance analysis in padel represents a useful process to gain references about players’ technical and tactical behavior, most of the research was conducted in elite compared to the sub-elite competitions. Therefore, this study aimed to describe sub-elite competitions in order to enhance scientific knowledge for sub-elite athletes and technical staff. 4287 shots were analyzed within five areas (time-motion analysis, shots characteristics, errors, serve and points won). Effective playing time and work-to-rest ratio were lower than in elite competitions, while strokes per minute and total match duration were in line with it. Shots were mainly forehand volleys performed under the head, while volleys and smashes were more likely to end with a point in comparison with ground or wall shots. However, sub-elite winning pairs performed fewer volleys than the losing side and fewer errors on volleys. One serve out of five ended in errors (almost half were net errors); fewer errors during serve return shots represented an advantage for the winning pairs. Finally, 65% of the points scored were caused by unforced errors of opponents. This knowledge should help technical staff design specific training programs for sub-elite padel players.