Determining Shot Effectiveness in Padel: Exploring Differences Between Winning and Losing Teams

Background: Padel is currently played in more than 150 countries, leading to a significant increase in scientific studies about performance analysis in recent years. The study of the shot effectiveness (winner vs errors) will provide an important information to players and coaches to know the performance in a match or competition. Objectives: The aims of this study were to (i) analyze winners, forced errors, unforced errors, and forced error gen-erators based on set results and serving situation; (ii) examine differences in shot types and effectiveness between set-winning and set-losing pairs; and (iii) investigate differ-ences in shot types that generate forced errors between set-winning and set-losing pairs. Methods: Data were collected from 41 professional matches (men’s and women’s) at the World Padel Tour Finland Padel Open website. Descriptive (frequency and percentage) and inferential analyses (chi-square (χ2), Cramer's V coefficient (Vc), subsequent Z-tests and corrected standard residuals (CSR)) were performed. Results: The results revealed that pairs generate more winners and forced error generators when serving, while forced errors are more prominent when returning. The winning pair achieved more winners (men: CSR=7.7; women: CSR=7.4), whereas the losing pair committed more errors (men: forced errors (CSR=4.3) and unforced errors (CSR=3.8); women: forced errors (CSR=4.8) and unforced errors (CSR=2.8)). Additionally, the winning pair generated more forced errors (men: 56.5%; women: 60.0%) than the losing pair (men: 43.5%; women: 40.0%). Conclusions: These findings are crucial for coaches and players, as they provide insights into sex-specific technical-tactical aspects, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of training strategies.