La altura como factor de rendimiento en pádel profesionaldiferencias entre géneros

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between height, ranking position, laterality (right-handed vs. left-handed) and the playing side (drive vs. backhand) of the world top-100, men and women’s’ paddle players, according to the 2020 World Paddle Tour (WPT) professional ranking. The results show the existence of a significant relationship between height and the playing side in both sexes, being the players on the backhand higher than the players on the drive (p = .004). However, no differences were observed when comparing players according to their laterality (right-handed vs. left-handed). Besides, left-handed players were significantly taller than right-handed players on the drive, both in men (1.80 ± .05 m vs. 1.76 ± .06 m; p <.05), and women (1.70 ± .06 m vs. 1.64 ± .06 m; p< .05). Finally, there was a positive correlation between height and ranking in women, although it seems to be highly influenced by the playing side, since only a significant linear relationship (the taller, the higher the ranking position) was found in players on the drive (R2 = .162). In conclusion, the height appears to be a determining factor for the playing side in paddle,difference with the tallest players being those on the backhand side. Particularly in women, the height of the players on the drive side was specially related to the ranking.