Game patterns in padel: a sequential analysis of elite men players

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aims of this study were to identify key game patterns and to determine the sequential relationship between each possible combination to assess the usefulness and effectiveness of certain behaviours in elite men padel players. A total of 3,811 stroke-by-stroke actions were collected from 12 sets from five final games of the professional men’s padel championship World Padel Tour (WPT). A multievent sequential data analysis was conducted to determine the interaction and transition probabilities between game patterns. The findings revealed that high-level padel competition is mostly defined by 10 to 40 game patterns and interactions, thus players should mask their real intentions to increase the opponents’ uncertainty. Because volleys and smashes were equally effective but smashes were more likely to fail by an unforced error, players could refine their offensive strategies by a better domain of volleys to solve the point, while reducing the use of definitive smashes for particular situations. Likewise, the use of aggressive backwall counterattacks in response to smashes seems to be an effective offensive strategy in high-level padel players. These findings contribute to a better knowledge of high-level padel game dynamics while providing coaches and players useful information to optimise the training and decision-making strategies.