Psychological factors in padel players: a systematic review. Factores psicológicos en jugadores de pádel: una revisión sistemática

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological factors are essential to understanding and enhancing padel perfor mance, as they influence how players cope with the sport’s physical and emotional demands. Objective: This systematic review aimed to identify and analyze the main psychological varia bles studied about padel, including frustration, anxiety, stress, self-confidence, and mental fa tigue. Methodology: The review followed the PRISMA guidelines and involved a thorough search of four major databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus, up to August 2024. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 studies were selected from 1,384, comprising 1,021 participants. Most studies were descriptive, cross-sectional, and comparative, with only one adopting an experimental design. Results: The review revealed that the most researched psychological variables in padel are anx iety, self-confidence, and stress-induced mental fatigue. A consistent finding across studies was that players often experience high levels of anxiety and stress before competitions, while also maintaining elevated levels of self-confidence. Additionally, players with greater experience and higher competitive levels tend to manage psychological demands more effectively than less experienced peers. Discussion: These findings suggest that psychological preparation and mental training may be crucial for improving performance in padel. Conclusion: This review highlights the importance of psychological factors in sport and recom mends continued research to develop strategies that support mental well-being and perfor mance optimization in padel players. Understanding how these variables interact can contrib ute to more comprehensive athlete development programs and better outcomes in both recre ational and competitive contexts.