Analysis of attacking actions in professional men's padel

Abstract

This study examined the distribution of attacking actions in professional padel and their impact on the outcome of the match. The technical and tactical actions shot by shot (n=2,054) of four men's finals on the official World Padel Tour 2017 circuit were recorded by systematic observation. The results showed a solid distribution of shot use between pairs of players in the course of the point (~ 65 % volleys, ~ 23 % bandejas, ~ 12 % smashes) and limited use of attacking actions to win the point (80 % in <3 actions). The winners performed a higher number of attacking actions per match. Most importantly, the distribution of the number of attacking actions performed throughout the point was quantified and it was found that the winning pair completed 85 % of points with one or more attacking shots and 64 % featured fewer than three shots. These results confirmed the importance of volleys as the most used attacking action in professional padel and played more often than smashes. In addition, evidence was compiled about the limited number of strokes available to win a point at the elite level. These data may be useful in setting competition goals and designing tasks which dovetail with the needs of the game.