The influence of gender on temporal structure and match activity patterns of professional padel tournaments

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the temporal structure and activity patterns of elite paddle games. 9 Padel Pro Tour® 2012 tournaments were analyzed and a total of 28 matches and 59 sets (32 male games vs. 27 female games) were considered. The games were scored by using the software LongMatch V.0.20.1®, which compare the items based on temporal aspects and activity patterns between males and females. The results show significant differences overall for the temporal variables and the duration of rallies in males and females. Additionally, the variable ‘effort ratio’ was significantly higher in females than males. Activity variables such as lob per rally and shots per rally were also significantly higher in females than males. We can define the elite paddle as a sport characterized by short-term rallies interspersed with short recovery periods, which imply a high work to rest ratio and gender significantly effects the temporal variables and activity patterns.