The impact of altitude conditions on performance in men's and women's professional padel.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze whether there are differences in performance indicators between matches played at different altitudes in professional padel.

Methods: Data were collected and analyzed based on players' sex, set number, and set score using video footage from the World Padel Tour (WPT), including open-access TV broadcasts and WPT's YouTube channel. Performance indicators - such as break points won, errors, winners, and winning smashes - were recorded across 1122 sets (485 matches) from three WPT seasons (2020-2022).

Results: In men's padel, altitude-related differences were observed in break points (P=0.005), break points won (P=0.002), and winners (P=0.002). In women's padel, altitude-related differences were found in break points won (P=0.004), smashes (P<0.001), and winning smashes (P<0.001). Set number and set result were associated with variations in several performance indicators, depending on the tournament's altitude (below or above 500 meters).

Conclusions: These results represent reference data to help players and coaches train according to altitude conditions.