Musculoskeletal injury prevalence in professional padel players. A retrospective study of the 2021 season

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of the gender, ranking and playing position on the musculoskeletal injuries in professional padel players. DESIGN: An epidemiological, observational, descriptive, retrospective cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: 44 injuries were reported by 36 players (20 men/16 women) who participated in the World Padel Tour 2021. SETTING: Online questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Descriptive statistics and injury prevalence were calculated. Spearman/Pearson correlations between sample characteristics and injury variables were calculated. The chi-square test was used to analyse the association between injury and descriptive variables. A Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the group differences with regard to days of absence. RESULTS: The results showed different injury prevalence (x1000 matches) in male (10.50) and female players (15.10). A higher injury incidence in top-ranked players, both in male (44.40%) and female (58.33%) was identified, but the low-ranked players reported more severe injuries (>28 days) (p < 0.05). Top-ranked players suffered more muscle injuries (p < 0.01) and low-ranked players suffered more tendon injuries (p < 0.01). Gender, ranking and playing position did not influence the days of absence (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that gender and ranking position had an impact on the injury prevalence in professional padel players.