How Mentally Fatiguing Are Consecutive World Padel Tour Matches?

• Main Authors: Jesús Díaz-García, Inmaculada González-Ponce, Miguel Ángel López-Gajardo, Jeroen Van Cutsem, Bart Roelands, Tomás García-Calvo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: mental effort; motivation; reaction time; professional padel; racket sports
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9059
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

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 (<i>n</i> = 14), Match 3 (morning) on day 2 (<i>n</i> = 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 (<i>p</i> < 0.01), with an accumulation of mental fatigue between matches played on day 1 (<i>p</i> < 0.01), maximizing the mental fatigue perceived during Match 2. Padel matches impair motivation and reaction time (<i>p</i> = 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.