Evaluation of active and reactive menifestations in female padel players. Influence of the playing side

Abstract

Over the last years padel has experienced an exponential growth in all areas, as can be seen in the significant number of licences, the incorporation of new professional circuits and a significant increase in the number of scientific publications. However, there are still scarce research that analyse in depth the conditional characteristics of padel players according to the side of the court which they play on. Several studies have evaluated the explosive strength of the lower body in racket sports, but in padel the existing evidence is scarce, limited and heterogeneous, especially regarding the side of play, and particularly in women's competition. In this sense, the aim of this study is focused on evaluating and analysing the manifestations of active and reactive strength of the lower body in women's padel according to the side of play. The squat jump test (SJ) and the countermovement test (CMJ) were used to assess the active and reactive manifestations of lower limb strength, in addition to the power performed. The results obtained showed no significant differences in the height of the SJ and CMJ jumps, neither in the power performed. However, it can be seen that all the physical variables analysed are slightly higher in those players located on the left side of the court. Depending on the side of play, the differences found could be the result of specific chronic muscular adaptations derived from highly specialized training and competition. The results obtained suggested the need to design and carry out differentiated trainings taking according to the side of the game in which the players compete in padel tennis. Further research is needed to contrast the results found in this investigation.