How Mentally Fatiguing Are Consecutive World Padel Tour Matches?

Jesús Díaz-García, Inmaculada González-Ponce, Miguel Ángel López-Gajardo, Jeroen Van Cutsem, Bart Roelands and Tomás García-Calvo
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Jesús Díaz-García: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10004 Caceres, Spain
Inmaculada González-Ponce: Faculty of Education, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Miguel Ángel López-Gajardo: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10004 Caceres, Spain
Jeroen Van Cutsem: VIPER Research Unit, Royal Military Academy, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Bart Roelands: Human Physiology and Sports Physiotherapy Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tomás García-Calvo: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10004 Caceres, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-9

Abstract: It is currently unknown whether mental fatigue occurs throughout a WPT competition and whether consecutive matches affect how mentally fatiguing a match is perceived to be. The objective was to quantify the effects of successive professional matches on mental fatigue. A total of 14 professional players (9 males, Mage = 25, 5 females, Mage = 21) participated during qualified rounds of a WPT with three eliminatory matches: Match 1 (morning) and 2 (afternoon) on day 1 ( n = 14), Match 3 (morning) on day 2 ( n = 6). Mental fatigue and motivation, with scales, and reaction time, with a 3-min Psychomotor Vigilance Test, were measured at two time intervals (pre and post matches (<30 min)). To analyze the evolution of these variables, a two-way repeated measures MANOVA was performed. An increase in mental fatigue from pre- to post-matches was observed ( p < 0.01), with an accumulation of mental fatigue between matches played on day 1 ( p < 0.01), maximizing the mental fatigue perceived during Match 2. Padel matches impair motivation and reaction time ( p = 0.04), without effects between successive matches, which reinforced the idea that mental fatigue may impair padel performance (i.e., reaction time). Coaches should use training interventions and recovery strategies to counteract/avoid the accumulation of mental fatigue during professional tournaments.

Keywords: mental effort; motivation; reaction time; professional padel; racket sports (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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