In recent decades, the popularization of paddle tennis in Spain has experienced a growth that has placed it as one of the 8 most practiced sports, with more than 4 million people who practice it regularly. This expansion is not only in our country, but it is also being more than visible at international level, with a presence of 25 million players and 40,000 courts in more than 110 countries around the world. In addition, it is expected that by 2025 this number will grow by 26% in Europe, reaching a total of 66,908 courts (in Spain alone there are more than 22,000 Padel courts today).
And the fact is that padel offers a high level of interactivity between players that gets participants more involved in the game, generating a high level of motivation and adherence in both recreational and competitive environments. According to data from the Spanish Federation of Padel, in the last 10 years, the number of licenses has increased by more than 130%, being in 2013 a total of 43312 licenses issued, while in 2023 already exceeded 100,000.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PADDEL
If we analyze the characteristics of padel, we can define it as a high intensity intermittent activity, which combines high frequency actions (0.7-1.5 per second) with low intensity actions during rallies of moderate average duration (9-15 seconds), which are interspersed with breaks of a longer duration. These data have been mostly taken from professional and semi-professional players whose average weekly dedication is 23.5 h, something that does not happen with the most amateur players, but which brings us closer to the reality of the sport as the technical-tactical level increases.
If we divide the court into zones, as we can see in the image, 46.6% of the activity takes place in the “baseline” zone , while 27.7% and 25.6% occurs in the “middle area” and “net zone” respectively (Andrea Demeco et al. 2022). If we go deeper into the strokes and technical actions, volleys, serves and forehand or backhand strokes from the baseline are the most frequent during a match (>85%). However, the majority of the winning shots are shots that are hit above the height of the athlete’s head (tray and smash), which usually happen in the middle zone of the court (76.3%) and from the net (41.2%). It is also important to note that 80% of the points in paddle tennis are obtained from the net, hence the importance for both couples to win the net area during the matches. In defensive terms, the most important shot is the lob; however, its use (<16%) is reduced due to the high risk it has if the execution is wrong, which would give a great opportunity for the opponent to perform a smash.
INJURIES IN PADDEL
Once we have analyzed in a very summarized way the characteristics of this sport, as well as the demands of the same, we can conclude that at the level of physical demand requires short efforts of high intensity combined with periods of less effort. This dynamic leads to high speeds of technical executions and sudden changes of speed and direction during padel matches, which can represent an important risk factor for injury, especially for untrained people. If we analyze the literature, we can find that injuries are quite common among padel players, with an incidence rate of 3 injuries per 1000 hours of training and 8 per 1000 hours of match play. If we take into account non-professional players , 2 out of 5 players have suffered at least one injury during the last year, with 53.1% of them having a recovery time of more than one month.
Delving deeper into the injuries themselves, 37.5% of them occur in the upper limb, where most affect mainly the shoulder and elbow, since the dynamics of paddle tennis involves a lot of overhead strokes with a greater potential for repetitions of abduction-external rotation movements of the arm during these strokes, which could explain the greater involvement of the rotator cuffs, subacromial impingement, bursitis and epicondylitis.
As for the lower limb, the percentage amounts to a total of 53.1%, of which sprains are the most common, usually the consequence of a sudden internal rotation and inversion when the player makes a change of direction. In summary, we can say that tendon and muscle injuries are the most reported type of injury, with the elbow being the most common anatomical area, followed by the knee, shoulder and lumbar area.
CONCLUSIONS
Responding to the question that gives title to this article, paddle tennis, like basically all competitive sports, can be considered harmful, but what if we compare it with other sports?
If we compare the different sports modalities shown in the table above, we can see that the incidence of injury in paddle tennis is higher than that of its big brother, tennis, but much lower than the almighty soccer, which shows a ratio of 4 times superior in competition. It is necessary to carefully observe the data shown, since the measures of the ratios are different, while in paddle tennis the ratio is per 1000 hours of play, in tennis we are talking about exposures to the athlete’s game, which in their totality and, especially in competition, are going to be greater than one hour, given that the population studied were professional players.
But not everything will be talking about the negative side of the paddle, and is that it also has some benefits for health more than contrasted. For example, Courel Ibañez et al. (2018). conducted a study comparing middle-aged adult women who played paddle tennis regularly with other sedentary women of the same age, reporting improvements in different body health values, such as greater proprioception, strength and cardiovascular endurance. At the same time, they observed a decrease in abdominal perimeter, hip circumference and leg skin folds with respect to sedentary women, thus reducing the risk of suffering cardiac disorders, osteopenia and lumbar pain.
In another study conducted by Pradas et al. (2021) suggest that there are positive influences on brain health. They found a significant increase in BDNF in a blood test taken after a simulated match. BDNF is a fiber-derived peptide (myokine) produced by skeletal muscle and regulated by physical exercise that plays an essential role in neuroplasticity and may even influence the regulation of muscle metabolism by improving glucose consumption and fat oxidation, highlighting the biological neuroprotection and regenerative properties of sport in the central and peripheral nervous system.
Finally and as a last thought, I would like to emphasize that as in any sport we practice, we need a plan, a plan that organizes us at the level of effort, to work the muscles and joints to prepare them for the high physical demands to which they will be exposed during the practice of sport. It is a mistake to think that because we do sport, get tired, sweat and feel that our muscles have worked, we are doing things correctly. If we do not do complementary force properly planned in which there is a good stress dosage, we are likely to expose ourselves to a greater risk of possibility of injury. For this reason, I invite you to always consult with sports professionals (doctors, physiotherapists, sports performance specialists, nutritionists, podiatrists…) who can guide you in the search for that plan that will help us to properly enjoy this sport that makes us have such a good time, because remember that the risk is not in the sport itself, but in not being prepared for the activity we are going to do.
BIBLIOGRAPHY .
Dahmen J, Emanuel KS, Fontanellas-Fes A, et al. Incidence, prevalence and nature of injuries in padel: a systematic review. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2023.
Courel-Ibañez, J, Sánchez-Alcaraz, BJ, and Muñoz Marín, D. Exploring Game Dynamics in Padel: Implications for Assessment and Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2019.
Sánchez-Muñoz,C, Muros, JJ, Cañas, J, Courel-Ibañez, J, Sánchez-Alcaraz, BJ and Zabala, M. Anthropometric and Physical Fitness Profiles of World-Class Male Padel Players. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020.
Pradas, F, Sanchez-Pay, A, Muñoz, D and Sánchez-Alcaraz, BJ. Gender Differences in Physical Fitness Characteristics in Professional Padel Players. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021.
Demeco, A, de Sire, A, Marotta, N, Spanò, R, Lippi, L, Palumbo, A, Iona, T, Gramigna, V, Palermi, S, Leigheb, M, Invernizzi, M and Ammendolia, A. Match Analysis, Physical Training, Risk of Injury and Rehabilitation in Padel: Overview of the Literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022.
Lynall RC, Kerr ZY, Djoko A, et al. Epidemiology of National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s and women’s tennis injuries, 2009/2010-2014/2015. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015.
Fu, MC, Ellenbecker, TS, Renstrom, PA, Windler, GS, Dines, DM. Epidemiology of injuries in tennis players. Springer Nature 2018.
Official website of the Spanish Padel Federation. Available at https://www.padelfederacion.es
López- Valenciano A, Ruiz-Pérez I, Garcia-Gómez A, et al. Epidemiology of injuries in professional football: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med 2019
