Physical Fitness in Young Padel Players: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the fitness characteristics and to identify the influence of gender and practice experience between young amateur padel players. A total of thirty-four padel players (n = 19 boys and 15 girls) aged 13 to 17 years old (age 14.6 ± 1.5 years; body mass 63.4 ± 14.5 kg; height 166.6 ± 9.8 cm; 6.2 ± 2.5 padel experience) volunteered to participate. Body composition was assessed by bioimpedance. Change of direction and agility were evaluated by two padel-adapted tests. Upper-limb strength measurement included overhead and side medicine ball throws with dominant and non-dominant hands. One-way ANCOVA was used to determine whether there were significant differences between gender and experience on fitness variables adjusting for age as a covariate. Male and female young padel players presented an apparently healthy body composition and exhibited similar performance in all fitness tests except for jumping ability. Practice experience seemed to influence upper-limb throwing strength, however, sub-analyses revealed no conclusive results. These results contribute to the existing knowledge in padel by providing new data about the fitness status of amateur young players aged 13 to 17 years old and open a window for future interventions using padel as a health promotion tool among youths.

Keywords: exercise; healthy growth; leisure-time physical activity; paddle tennis; racket sports.

Figure 1

Specific padel agility test. Ref. [27].

Figure 2

Box and whisker plots of the median (horizontal line), 25th and 75th percentiles (box), range (error bars) and individual scores (markers) for fitness attributes identified as influenced by gender or experience. Left panels are gender group comparisons (boys versus girls). Right panels are the experience groups comparisons considering the median of the sample (lower versus higher than 5 years’ experience). MBT: Medicine ball throw. CMJ: Countermovement jump.