External Load During Official Competition in Under-18 Padel Players

In padel, an emerging racket sport, evidence regarding competition demands in adolescent players remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze absolute external load during official competition in male and female U18 padel players. A total of 18 official matches from the Spanish Championship of Regional Teams were analyzed. Eighteen U18 players (9 females: age 15.1 ± 1.5 years, height 162.9 ± 8.2 cm, body mass 54.6 ± 9.1 kg; 9 males: age 15.4 ± 1.8 years, height 175.1 ± 9.4 cm, body mass 67.2 ± 11.0 kg), competing at the regional and national levels, were monitored using OLIVER™ inertial devices. External load variables included playing time, total distance, high-intensity accelerations and decelerations, changes of direction, time spent at high metabolic power, session volume, session intensity, and maximum speed. Statistical analysis was performed using linear mixed models to compare differences between sexes. Male players showed significantly higher values than female players in playing time (82.34 ± 23.95 vs. 51.03 ± 12.39 min; p < 0.001) and total distance (3958.50 ± 242.57 vs. 2225.54 ± 257.29 m; p < 0.001). They also presented significantly greater values in high-intensity external load variables, including accelerations, decelerations, changes of direction, time spent at high metabolic power, session volume, and session intensity (all p ≤ 0.009). No significant differences were found for maximum speed (p = 0.074). These findings suggest that official competition demands differ according to sex in U18 padel and may help inform more specific training prescriptions and load-monitoring strategies.