Evolution of padel in spain according to practitioners’ gender and age

Abstract

The padel sport has gained recent interest given its important growth in Spain during recent years. However, information about padel practitioners’ profile is still limited. The purpose of this study was therefore to analyse the evolution on the number of padel practitioners in Spain to determine a player profile according to gender and age. Data was extracted from the Survey of Sporting Habits in Spain from 2000 to 2015 (n = 61,189), and from the reports of sport licences for the Spanish Padel Federation (n = 56,613). Statistical analysis included calculation of estimations and interval confidences on the Spanish population census. Results showed an estimation of 4.3 million of padel practitioners in 2015, finding an increment of 3.0 million compared to 2010. Regarding gender and age distribution, results may allow defining padel as a sport with a high female representation (29% of practitioners and 32% of licences belong to females), being mostly player by adults from 35 to 54 years old. This information contributes to the improvement of exercise programme prescription for adults, which may consider the padel sport as an enjoyable and motivating physical activity.