Winning patterns under special conditions in elite men's padel players

Abstract

Official elite padel competitions are typically held under similar conditions, including the surface and the rule allowing two serves to start the rally. What happens when the competition is played under special constraints? This study aimed to describe the temporal structure, number of shots per point, percentage of serve in, percentage of winners and errors, and the distribution of points won by the serving and returning team in elite men's padel played under modified conditions (single-serve rule, clay court surface, and golden point), and to compare these performance indicators between winning and losing pairs. Nine matches from the 2024 Argentinian Padel Tour team competition were analysed, totalling 1250 points (inter-observer K ∼0.963, intra-observer K ∼0.983). Success in elite men's padel relies on offensive efficiency and rapid resolution capacity, with differences in rally duration and effective length (p < 0.05) between match-losing and winning pairs, especially when they play as receiver (95% CI losers: 12.99–13.87 vs 95% CI winners: 9.89–11.73). Whilst serve appeared not to affect error probability directly (95% CI OR: 0.795–1.243), its contribution increased when the effect was adjusted for the final match score, with a decrease in error rate to 42.3% (95% CI OR: 0.437–0.764). Winning pairs are distinguished by adopting an aggressive mindset and managing risk primarily during the opening moments of the point, when error probability is at its peak. Coaches should implement game situations that reward aggressiveness from the return, seeking to transform defence into attack before the tenth shot, as this is where matches are effectively decided.