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The aims were to I. assess the differences in unforced errors between men’s and women’s professional padel players, II. assess the differences in unforced errors between winners and losers of the set in professional padel players, III. analyse the evolution of unforced errors in professional padel. To do this, the unforced errors (which are provided by World Padel Tour (WPT)) were collected from 2,567 sets (1,476 men’s sets and 1,091 women’s sets) corresponding to matches from the final draw (round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals) of tournaments on the WPT men’s and women’s circuits during 2016 to 2022 seasons, which are available on the WPT YouTube channel and on the WPT TV website. The results with respect to the first aim indicate that the number of unforced errors was higher in women’s padel than in men’s, regardless of the set number, tournament round, season and court. With respect to the second aim, not committing unforced errors is a fundamental factor in professional padel to win the sets. Finally, regarding the third aim, the number of unforced errors decreased as the seasons progressed; therefore, to win, players should not only have to pass the ball without missing, but they might have to hit winners or generate forced errors of the opponent.
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Biology of Sport, Vol. 41 No4, 2024 3
Rafael Conde-Ripoll et al. Unforced errors in professional padel
INTRODUCTION
Padel is aracket sport played in pairs on a20 × 10metre court,
which is divided by acentral net, with an exterior four-metre-high
glass and netting enclosure at the back of the court and alateral
three-metre enclosure to the sides, against which the ball can be hit
during play[1]. Padel is practised by players of different ages and
competitive levels due to the simplicity of its rules and the fact that
its physical and technical-tactical demands are adapted to the level
of play[2–4]. This sport is currently played in more than 70coun-
tries[1], which in recent years has led to asignicant increase in
the number of facilities, commercial agreements (sponsorships, em-
ployment contracts, etc.), sports licences, etc.[1]. In this context,
the number of scientic studies on padel has increased in recent
years[5,6], with the most studied topic being analysis of perfor-
mance.
In professional padel there are several tournament circuits (A1-
Padel Tour, Premier Padel, World Padel Tour (WPT)), with the WPT
being most important; it organises more than 20events in different
cities around the world each season. Thus, the players on this cir-
cuit have been the subject of several research studies that have iden-
tied the differences that exist in the parameters of play between
men’s and women’s padel[7–10]. Studies have found that the du-
ration of the points is longer in women’s padel, as well as the
Analysis and prediction of unforced errors in men’s and women’s
professional padel
AUTHORS: Rafael Conde-Ripoll1, Diego Muñoz2, Bernardino J. Sánchez-Alcaraz3, Adrián
Escudero-Tena2
1 Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain
2 University of Extremadura, Spain
3 University of Murcia, Spain
ABSTRACT: The aims were to I. assess the differences in unforced errors between men’s and women’s
professional padel players, II. assess the differences in unforced errors between winners and losers of the set in
professional padel players, III. analyse the evolution of unforced errors in professional padel. To do this, the
unforced errors (which are provided by World Padel Tour (WPT)) were collected from 2,567sets (1,476men’s
sets and 1,091women’s sets) corresponding to matches from the nal draw (round of 32, round of 16, quarternals,
semi-nals and nals) of tournaments on the WPT men’s and women’s circuits during 2016to 2022seasons,
which are available on the WPT YouTube channel and on the WPT TV website. The results with respect to the
rst aim indicate that the number of unforced errors was higher in women’s padel than in men’s, regardless of
the set number, tournament round, season and court. With respect to the second aim, not committing unforced
errors is afundamental factor in professional padel to win the sets. Finally, regarding the third aim, the number
of unforced errors decreased as the seasons progressed; therefore, to win, players should not only have to pass
the ball without missing, but they might have to hit winners or generate forced errors of the opponent.
CITATION: Conde-Ripoll R, Muñoz D, Sánchez-Alcaraz BJ, Escudero-Tena A. Analysis and prediction of unforced
errors in men’s and women’s professional padel. Biol Sport. 2024;41(4):3–9.
Received: 2023-07-02; Reviewed: 2023-11-20; Re-submitted: 2023-12-19; Accepted: 2023-12-21; Published: 2024-03-06.
number of shots per point[7,8]. In terms of shot types, men hit
more backhand volleys, at or topspin smashes, and shots close to
the net, while women hit more lobs, trays, and shots from the mid-
dle zone or the back of the court[8–12]. In addition, women make
ahigher percentage of errors (forced and unforced), while men make
ahigher percentage of winners[13,14]. On the other hand, although
men are more effective on the serve[15], women are more effective
on break points[10,16].
Similarly, studies have been conducted to identify the differenc-
es between match-winning and match-losing professional padel
pairs[17,18]. These studies indicate that match-winning pairs typ-
ically win long points (over 11seconds), do not make unforced er-
rors in the rst four seconds of the point, and are very effective on
break points. In addition, they perform more attacking actions in
85% of the points, spend more time in the net areas and hit more
smashes. On the other hand, match-losing pairs tend to lose longer
points, perform fewer attacking actions per point and per match, hit
more groundstrokes with or without the wall during the match and
hit more trays. Thus, arelationship has been found between win-
ning points and playing in areas close to the net[19].
The last shot of the point has been widely analysed in men’s and
women’s professional padel[10,19–21] as well as in other racket
Original Paper
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2024.134763
Key words:
Racquet sports
Performance analysis
Shot efcacy
High performance
Gender
Corresponding author:
Rafael Conde-Ripoll
Universidad Europea de Madrid,
Spain
E-mail: info.conderipoll@gmail.com
ORCID:
Rafael Conde-Ripoll
0000-0003-1272-5255
Diego Muñoz
0000-0003-4107-6864
Bernardino J. Sánchez-Alcaraz
0000-0001-7788-5175
Adrián Escudero-Tena
0000-0002-7196-5606
© Institute of Sport – National Research Institute
4
Rafael Conde-Ripoll et al. Unforced errors in professional padel
differences in unforced errors between winners and losers of the set
in professional padel players, III. to analyse the evolution of unforced
errors in professional padel.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples
Atotal of 2,567sets (1,476men’s sets and 1,091women’s sets)
corresponding to matches from the nal draw (round of 32, round
of 16, quarternals, semi-nals and nals) of tournaments on the
WPT men’s and women’s circuits were analysed. The data collection
was carried out from the recording of the unforced errors provided
by the WPT during the 2016to 2022seasons at the end of each
set in the open access videos of WPT TV (https://www.worldpadel-
tourtv.com/) or on the ofcial YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.
com/@Worldpadeltour), following the ethical provisions of the Dec-
laration of Helsinki[33].
Study variables
The performance indicator analysed was the unforced errors (as used
in other investigations[17,19,20]). According to WPT, an unforced
error occurs when apair loses the point due to bad play in asituation
without pressure from the opponents that should be fully controlled
by the player of the team[19].
sports such as tennis or badminton[22–26]. These studies have
concluded that the point can end with awinning shot, aforced er-
ror or an unforced error. Awinning shot is that action where aplay-
er wins the point with adirect shot, while aforced error is that ac-
tion where the player loses the point due to an error in ahighly
difcult shot, and with apoor position for its execution due to the
opponent’s prior shot[21]. And, nally, an unforced error is that ac-
tion where the player loses the point due to bad play or an error in
asituation that should be fully controlled by the player[19].
It is worth noting that the majority of points in professional padel
and tennis matches end as aresult of unforced errors[20,27]. More-
over, making fewer unforced errors than the opponent is key for at-
taining success in padel[10,19–21], tennis[28–30] and badmin-
ton[25,31,32]. Specically, in padel, in relative terms, unforced
errors usually occur with the double wall and, in absolute terms,
with the forehand, backhand and volley[20].
Therefore, after carrying out an analysis of the scientic literature
in professional padel and even in other racket sports, unforced er-
rors seem to be afundamental performance indicator. To the best of
our knowledge, this is the rst study which takes into account data
from seven seasons. For this reason, the aims of the current study
were: I. to assess the differences in unforced errors between men’s
and women’s professional padel players, II. to assess the
TABLE 1. Unforced errors as afunction of the winning or losing pair of the set by gender (data expressed as mean and standard deviation)
Unforced errors according to:
Winners Losers
Men Women p d Men Women p d
SD SD SD SD
Set
First 6.12 3.26 7.46 3.76 < 0.001 0.369 7.78 3.31 9.44 3.88 <0.001 0.435
Second 6.01 3.23 7.21 3.53 <0.001 0.341 7.97 3.39 8.98 3.61 < 0.001 0.291
Third 6.05 3.27 6.92 3.39 0.004 0.316 7.76 3.34 9.08 3.63 0.001 0.381
Round
Round of 32 5.36 2.83 6.32 3.18 0.021 0.310 7.36 3.52 7.99 3.16 0.049 0.265
Round of 16 5.46 2.72 6.03 2.89 0.118 0.208 6.50 2.66 7.54 2.65 0.016 0.324
Quarternals 6.04 3.25 7.43 3.63 < 0.001 0.380 8.01 3.37 9.37 3.82 < 0.001 0.345
Semi-nals 6.51 3.44 7.54 3.73 <0.001 0.271 8.02 3.29 9.53 3.79 < 0.001 0.404
Finals 6.12 3.33 7.78 3.75 <0.001 0.482 8.18 3.45 9.84 3.92 < 0.001 0.482
Season
2016 7.54 3.55 7.93 3.66 0.340 0.118 9.09 3.46 10.73 3.83 0.001 0.409
2017 6.44 3.15 8.04 3.93 <0.001 0.440 8.79 3.20 10.11 4.19 0.007 0.322
2018 7.31 3.72 8.53 4.11 0.020 0.300 10.17 3.78 10.54 3.59 0.238 0.151
2019 7.13 3.45 9.19 4.08 <0.001 0.519 9.35 2.98 11.15 4.27 < 0.001 0.482
2020 5.93 3.04 6.83 3.38 0.021 0.278 7.07 3.33 8.51 3.65 0.001 0.389
2021 4.85 2.81 6.13 3.11 <0.001 0.429 6.49 2.81 7.88 3.17 < 0.001 0.440
2022 5.25 2.76 6.51 3.03 <0.001 0.428 6.78 2.75 8.24 3.06 < 0.001 0.501
Court Outdoor 6.22 3.37 7.49 3.59 <0.001 0.376 8.22 3.57 9.56 3.51 < 0.001 0.412
Indoor 6.01 3.21 7.22 3.63 <0.001 0.341 7.73 3.26 9.08 3.80 < 0.001 0.349
: mean; SD: standard deviation; p: p-value; d: effect size.
Biology of Sport, Vol. 41 No4, 2024 5
Rafael Conde-Ripoll et al. Unforced errors in professional padel
In addition, the following contextual variables were established:
gender of the players (men and women), result of the set (winners
or losers), tournament round (round of 32, round of 16, quarter-
nals, semi-nals, and nals), set number (rst, second and third sets)
and court (outdoor and indoor).
With respect to the “result of the set” variable, several previous
investigations have studied aspects of scoring in professional
padel[34,35]. These investigations use the set as aunit of mea-
surement, instead of the match, since the data vary very signicant-
ly depending on whether two or three sets are played. According to
the rules[1], apadel match is won by the pair that wins two sets
before the opponent. Therefore, in the scenario of athree-set match,
the results could lead to confusion as each pair would win and lose
aset before playing athird and nal set.
Process
The unforced errors analysed (which are provided by WPT) were
collected from matches that are available on the WPT YouTube chan-
nel and the WPT TV website. The responsible analyst who recorded
the unforced errors in WPT during the seasons indicated in the
sample was acertied padel coach with more than 10years of ex-
perience. However, an inter-observer reliability analysis was performed
to ensure the veracity of the data collected. Adoctor in sports sci-
ences, author of numerous relevant scientic publications on padel
and with more than 10years of experience, using the LINCE video
analysis software[36], analysed the unforced errors of arandom
sample of 380sets to guarantee arelevant amount of data, between
10and 20% of the total study sample[37]. The reliability of the
analysis test was 0.93, considered almost perfect[38]. This doctor
collected the contextual variables of the study, through an ad-hoc
instrument. Furthermore, once the registration was completed, the
doctor again collected arandom sample of 380sets in order to
perform an intra-observer reliability analysis, with the average reli-
ability of the analysis test being 0.98, considered almost perfect[38].
These reliability procedures have already been used in relevant padel
studies[10,17,39,40].
Statistical analysis
Unforced errors did not meet the normality criteria (Kolmogorov-
Smirnov), so non-parametric statistical methods were used[41].
Adescriptive analysis (means and standard deviations) of unforced
errors organised according to the contextual variables was carried
out. Subsequently, an inferential analysis was conducted, using the
Mann-Whitney Utest to identify differences between men’s and
women’s professional padel and between the winners and losers of
the set in professional padel according to the set number, the round,
the season and outdoor or indoor tournament. Effect size was calcu-
lated, considering asmall (0.20), medium (0.50), and large (0.80)
effect size[42]. In addition, graphs were created through the Holt
prediction model to determine the evolution of unforced errors in
professional padel. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS
v.21software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and statistical signi-
cance was set at p<0.05.
RESULTS
Table1shows the differences found between men’s and women’s
professional padel in unforced errors according to the set number,
tournament round, season and court.
As shown in Table1, professional women’s padel players com-
mitted signicantly more unforced errors than men (p<0.001,
p= 0.001, p=0.004, p =0.007, p=0.020, p=0.021,
p=0.016or p=0.049), regardless of the set number, tournament
round, season or type of court, except for the winners in the round
of 16(p=0.118) and in the 2016season (p=0.340), where al-
though women committed more unforced errors than men, these dif-
ferences were not signicant. Furthermore, in the losers in the
FIG. 2. Evolution of unforced errors in women’s professional padel
until the year 2030(UCL: upper condence limit; LCL: lower
condence limit).
FIG. 1. Evolution of unforced errors in men’s professional padel
until the year 2030(UCL: upper condence limit; LCL: lower
condence limit).
6
Rafael Conde-Ripoll et al. Unforced errors in professional padel
TABLE 2. Descriptive and inferential analysis of unforced errors as afunction of gender by winning/loser pair
Unforced errors according to:
Men Women
Winners Losers p d Winners Losers p d
SD SD SD SD
Set
First 6.12 3.26 7.78 3.31 <0.001 0.532 7.46 3.76 9.44 3.88 <0.001 0.533
Second 6.01 3.23 7.97 3.39 <0.001 0.612 7.21 3.53 8.98 3.61 <0.001 0.515
Third 6.05 3.27 7.76 3.34 <0.001 0.569 6.92 3.39 9.08 3.63 <0.001 0.610
Round
Round of 32 5.36 2.83 7.36 3.52 < 0.001 0.623 6.32 3.18 7.99 3.16 < 0.001 0.546
Round of 16 5.46 2.72 6.50 2.66 < 0.001 0.455 6.03 2.89 7.54 2.65 < 0.001 0.543
Quarternals 6.04 3.25 8.01 3.37 < 0.001 0.618 7.43 3.63 9.37 3.82 <0.001 0.530
Semi-nals 6.51 3.44 8.02 3.29 <0.001 0.467 7.54 3.73 9.53 3.79 <0.001 0.556
Finals 6.12 3.33 8.18 3.45 <0.001 0.661 7.78 3.75 9.84 3.92 <0.001 0.545
Season
2016 7.54 3.55 9.09 3.46 < 0.001 0.484 7.93 3.66 10.73 3.83 <0.001 0.748
2017 6.44 3.15 8.79 3.20 < 0.001 0.777 8.04 3.93 10.11 4.19 <0.001 0.546
2018 7.31 3.72 10.17 3.78 <0.001 0.765 8.53 4.11 10.54 3.59 < 0.001 0.580
2019 7.13 3.45 9.35 2.98 < 0.001 0.677 9.19 4.08 11.15 4.27 <0.001 0.459
2020 5.93 3.04 7.07 3.33 0.002 0.352 6.83 3.38 8.51 3.65 0.001 0.464
2021 4.85 2.81 6.49 2.81 < 0.001 0.607 6.13 3.11 7.88 3.17 <0.001 0.584
2022 5.25 2.76 6.78 2.75 < 0.001 0.587 6.51 3.03 8.24 3.06 <0.001 0.576
Court Outdoor 6.22 3.37 8.22 3.57 <0.001 0.597 7.49 3.59 9.56 3.51 <0.001 0.630
Indoor 6.01 3.21 7.73 3.26 <0.001 0.564 7.22 3.63 9.08 3.80 <0.001 0.511
: mean; SD: standard deviation; p: p-value; d: effect size.
FIG. 4. Evolution of unforced errors committed by players who
lose sets in professional padel until the year 2030(UCL: upper
condence limit; LCL: lower condence limit).
FIG. 3. Evolution of unforced errors committed by players who
win sets in professional padel until the year 2030(UCL: upper
condence limit; LCL: lower condence limit).
2018season, men committed more unforced errors than women,
although this difference was not signicant (p=0.238).
As Figures 1and 2show, the number of unforced errors decreased
as the seasons progressed in both men’s professional padel and wom-
en’s professional padel.
Table2shows the differences found between winners and losers
in men’s and women’s professional padel in unforced errors accord-
ing to the number set, tournament round, season and court.
As shown in Table2, the results show that the players who won
the set committed signicantly fewer unforced errors than the play-
ers who lost the set (p<0.001or p=0.002), regardless of the
set number, tournament round, season or court type.
As Figures 3and 4show, the number of unforced errors decreased
as the seasons progressed, both in the pair of players who won the
sets and in the pair that lost them.
Biology of Sport, Vol. 41 No4, 2024 7
Rafael Conde-Ripoll et al. Unforced errors in professional padel
DISCUSSION
The aims of the current study were to: I. assess the differences in
unforced errors between men’s and women’s professional padel, II.
assess the differences in unforced errors between winners and losers
of the set in professional padel, III. analyse the evolution of unforced
errors in professional padel.
The style of play in professional padel varies according to the gen-
der of the athletes. The results of this study indicate that the num-
ber of unforced errors was higher in women’s padel than in men’s
padel, regardless of the set number, tournament round, season, and
court. Various studies that have analysed the most frequent techni-
cal-tactical action in professional men’s and women’s professional
padel, as well as the differences between them, agree with the re-
sults of this study[13,14]. Apart from showing that ahigher num-
ber of errors (forced and unforced) are committed in women’s com-
pared to men’s padel, it has also been found that men produce more
winners than women. Women’s professional padel is characterized
by amore conservative style of play, where more continuity shots
such as lobs and trays are performed[8,9,11,12] and where to
win, it is enough to pass the ball and not commit unforced errors. In
contrast, in men’s professional padel fewer unforced errors are com-
mitted and the athletes make more aggressive shots such as at or
topspin smashes[12,14] to perform winning shots or to generate
forced errors of the opponent. Nevertheless, these differences be-
tween playing styles in professional padel according to the gender of
the athletes could be due to anthropometric and strength differenc-
es between elite men’s and women’s players[4,43], since men are
on average taller, and have ahigher muscle percentage and higher
values of vertical jump and grip strength than women players, which
allows them to play amore aggressive game.
Not committing unforced errors is afundamental factor in profes-
sional padel to win the sets. The results of this study show that the
players who won committed fewer unforced errors than the players
who lost the set, regardless of the game context analysed. Hence, to
enhance their chances of success in matches, athletes should work
closely with their coaches to develop strategies that minimize un-
forced errors during practice. For instance, coaches and players could
watch competitive or practice matches, identify when unforced er-
rors occur and nd out ways to improve[44], and likewise, coach-
es could also propose exercises in which the unforced errors are mon-
itored and penalized[45,46]. Further investigation in this domain
is required, given the scarcity of information regarding the inuenc-
es of specic drills and training protocols in enhancing technical-tac-
tical abilities[47].
As shown in Figures 1–4, players reduced the number of unforced
errors between 2016and 2022. This could be due to the profes-
sionalization of the sector which has led to enhancements in player
skills. In addition, according to the data of the present investigation,
the number of unforced errors will decrease as the seasons progress;
therefore, to win, players must not only pass the ball, but must also
hit winners or generate forced errors of the adversary. Various
studies that have analysed the effectiveness of the last shot of the
points in professional men’s and women’s padel in different game
contexts[13,17,18,48,49] show that the players who win the
matches commit fewer errors (forced and unforced) and more win-
ners than the players who lose, which would reinforce one of the
main objectives of this sport, which is to minimize the number of er-
rors (forced and unforced). In addition, depending on the type of
shot, the players who lose perform ahigher percentage of backhand
volleys[8,18] and off-the-wall shots[8,48]. Coaches and athletes
should work in acooperative way so that the latter develop agreat-
er competitive performance by being more diverse and unpredictable
in their actions thanks to appropriate challenging constraints[50].
Likewise, previous studies have indicated that winning pairs tend to
win long points (more than 11seconds) and do not usually commit
unforced errors in the rst four seconds of the point[19]. The same
authors found that, at the net, losers committed unforced errors ear-
lier in the rally than winners whereas there were no signicant dif-
ferences at the baseline. Similarly, Courel-Ibáñez and collabora-
tors[51] found that winners made 40% fewer unforced errors at the
net compared to losers. The study conducted by Escudero-Tena and
collaborators[14] indicated that in men’s padel more winning shots
are made than in women’s padel; thus men’s padel is generally more
aggressive, although this difference decreases as the importance of
the point increases. On the other hand, in men’s padel fewer errors
(forced and unforced) are committed than in women’s padel at non-
key moments and at key moments, so women must train to achieve
amore uid game. However, men commit more errors (forced and
unforced) than women in golden points, with women being more ef-
fective in these cases. Likewise, Sánchez-Alcaraz and collabora-
tors[34] stated that the importance of the point for the match score
causes players to change their game behaviour. Therefore, players
must pay special attention to the different moments of the game,
and create training routines in which specic situations are estab-
lished, that is, train with ascoreboard simulation.
The results of this study are very novel, because as far as we
know, it is the rst study that analyses such an extensive data sam-
ple (seven seasons), allowing apredictive analysis of the develop-
ment of the number of unforced errors in men’ and women’s profes-
sional padel. However, alimitation must be taken into account when
interpreting the results, which is that the data recorded for the round
of 32and round of 16pertain only to the 2022season. In previous
seasons, WPT did not provide these data in these or prior rounds
(i.e., rounds from qualication). In addition, in future research, as
unforced errors have been analysed, forced errors, winners, and shots
that generate forced errors should be analysed.
CONCLUSIONS
The style of play in professional padel varies according to the gender
of the athletes, because the number of unforced errors is higher in
women’s padel than in men’s, regardless of the number of sets, the
round of the tournament, the season and the court. Hence, since the
8
Rafael Conde-Ripoll et al. Unforced errors in professional padel
as the seasons progress. Therefore, in order to increase the chanc-
es of winning, players will not only have to pass the ball, but they
will also have to hit winners and/or force errors on the opponent.
Conict of interest declaration
The authors declare no conict of interest.
number of unforced errors in men’s and women’s professional padel
will decrease as the seasons progress, the style of play in women’s
padel game should evolve so as to be more offensive.
In addition, not committing unforced errors is afundamental fac-
tor in professional padel to win sets. Thus, players who win commit
fewer unforced errors than those who lose, regardless of the context
of the game. However, the number of unforced errors will decrease
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Articles published in the Biology of Sport are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.
... Thus, it seems that, at professional levels, there is a clear tendency to maintain, or even increase, the number of winners produced during tournaments. This tendency is supported by a previous study (Conde-Ripoll, Muñoz, Sánchez-Alcaraz et al., 2024) that showed a decline in unforced errors over time. This tendency highlights the professionalization of this emerging sport, with players showing higher technical/tactical skills. ...
... Even though it was not measured in the present study, a possible justification would be that, given the observed enhancement in player's skills (Conde-Ripoll, Muñoz, Sánchez-Alcaraz et al., 2024;Ungureanu et al., 2024), it is reasonable to anticipate their heightened ability to effectively defend against more challenging shots. What currently constitutes a winner, in the future it may evolve into a generator of forced error. ...
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Objectives: 1) assess differences in winners between male and female professional padel players during 5 seasons (2018-2022); 2) assess differences in winners between winning and losing pairs of a set during 5 seasons (2018-2022); and 3) predict the evolution of winners in the coming seasons (2023-2027). Methodology: 4,048 winners (2,268 men´s winners and 1,780 women´s winners) of 2,024 sets (1,134 men's and 890 women's) were analyzed from the World Padel Tour circuits (2018-2022). Using Student's t-test for independent samples, with 95% confidence intervals and effect size (Cohen's d). Results: a significantly higher number of winners in men's padel (.001 < p < .029; ES: 0.257 < d < 0.587), except for losing pairs in the third set and during 2020 and 2021. For the second aim, winning pairs produced significantly more winners (p < .001; ES: 0.502 < d < 1.678), except in 2020. Concerning the third aim, the number of winner/set is foreseen to remain consistently random (2023-2027: men's winning pairs:20-24; losing pairs: 16-20; women's winning pairs: 18-21; losing pairs: 14-18). Conclusions: men achieve more winners than women, winning pairs make more winners than losing pairs, and the number of winners will remain consistently random over the coming seasons.
... Es importante destacar que el número de errores son superiores a los golpes ganadores , siendo, en términos generales, el remate el golpeo con más puntos ganadores y la volea el golpeo con el que más errores se comete (Conde-Ripoll, et al., 2024a). En este sentido, la efectividad del golpeo entre la pareja ganadora y perdedora parece variar en función del género, ya que las jugadoras femeninas cometen más errores no forzados en ambos casos (Conde-Ripoll et al., 2024b), así como en función del tipo de punto (Martín-Miguel et al., 2023c). Escudero-Tena et al. (2022b) analizaron esta cuestión especificando tres tipos de puntos: no clave, clave y punto de oro. ...
... Diversos estudios han analizado esta limitación de la investigación desde el punto de vista de secuencias de golpeo. Por un lado, se ha identificado las secuencias de golpeo más comunes en pádel profesional (Conde-Ripoll et al., 2024b), por otro lado, se han analizado las principales secuencias de finalización Ramón-Llín et al., 2022). No obstante, estos estudios no han diferenciado en función del tipo de punto, lo cual es significativo dado el efecto que tiene el punto de oro en las acciones de juego. ...
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... depending on the moment: non-key moment, key moment, golden point). These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing unforced errors, which remain a key performance indicator at the professional level (37). ...
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Introduction This study aimed to analyse the differences between pressure training and official competition matches in high-level male padel players from Finland, focusing on the proportion of points won by serving and returning players, the frequency of break points and golden points, and the effectiveness of the last shot. Methods A total of 4,417 points from 38 matches played during the 2022 and 2023 seasons were analyzed. Results The results revealed no significant association between match type (pressure training vs. competition) and the distribution of winners, forced errors, or unforced errors ( p = 0.867). Similarly, the frequency of break points, non-break points, golden points, and non-golden points remained consistent across both match types, regardless of the service situation (serving or returning players). While a relationship was observed between shot type and match type in forced errors ( p = 0.024), the overall shot effectiveness remained comparable across different shot types. Discussion In conclusion, this study suggests that high-level male padel players display comparable technical-tactical performance in pressure training and official competition matches.
... The effectiveness of the last shot, a key technical-tactical performance indicator has been thoroughly investigated (Conde-Ripoll, Muñoz, Sánchez-Alcaraz, et al., 2024). A point can conclude with a winner, a forced error, or an unforced error (Sánchez-Alcaraz, Jiménez, et al., 2021). ...
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... The analysis of gameplay patterns in women's competitions in other racket and paddle sports has revealed a tendency to make more unforced errors with the backhand, especially in pressure situations, where the player is forced to hit from an uncomfortable position [16][17][18]. This asymmetry in stroke execution can influence not only the number of unforced errors but also the effectiveness of attacking shots, i.e., winners [19]. ...
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... From a gameplay standpoint, professional padel has evolved in recent years, transitioning into a more intense sport (Ungureanu et al., 2024) characterized by a decline in unforced errors, a trend projected to persist (Conde-Ripoll, Muñoz, Sánchez-Alcaraz et al., 2024). Match-winning pairs produce a higher rate of winners and commit fewer errors compared to match-losing pairs (Escudero-Tena et al., 2021;Sánchez-Alcaraz et al., 2022). ...
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... An instrument was designed to assess SPP, covering items related to shot effectiveness, player movements and court positioning, teamwork and communication, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and game rhythm or pace (the ratio of actions and point duration, expressed as shots per second). Several studies have emphasized that minimizing errors is a key factor in increasing the chances of winning a match [32]. However, shot effectiveness is closely linked to other tactical variables, such as player movement and court positioning [33]. ...
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... 5,6 Narrow focuses typically examine technical-tactical indicators, such as shot types, contact with opponents' wall, shot height, and shot trajectory. 7,8 In contrast, broader focuses consider contingencies of shots, including players' court location, hitting side, distance to the net when hitting, serve impact of match outcome, 9 and tactical perspectives aiming at achieving an offensive position effectively. 10,11 In professional padel, WPT operates on an elimination system in which pairs losing a match are promptly eliminated from the tournament. ...
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El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la relación entre la altura, la posición del ranking, lateralidad (diestro vs. zurdo) y el lado de juego (derecha vs. revés) de los 100 mejores jugadores de pádel del mundo tanto en categoría masculina como femenina, atendiendo al ranking profesional World Pádel Tour (WPT) 2020. Los resultados demuestran la existencia de una relación significativa entre la altura y el lado de juego en ambos sexos, siendo los jugadores del lado izquierdo más altos que los jugadores del lado derecho (p= .004). Sin embargo, no se observaron diferencias cuando se compararon jugadores según la lateralidad (diestros vs. zurdos). Los jugadores zurdos fueron significativamente más altos que los jugadores diestros del lado derecho, tanto en hombres (1.80 ± .05 m vs 1.76± .06 m; p <.05), como en mujeres (1.70 ± .06 m vs 1.64 ± .06 m; p <.05). Finalmente, se observó una correlación positiva entre la altura y el ranking en mujeres, aunque parece estar altamente influenciada por el lado de juego, ya que solamente se observó una relación lineal significativa (más altas, mejor posicionadas) con jugadoras del lado derecho (R2 = .162). En conclusión, la altura en pádel parece ser un factor determinante para el lado de juego, siendo los jugadores más altos los del lado izquierdo. En mujeres, la altura de las jugadoras del lado derecho está directamente relacionada con el ranking
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