Analysis of the finalists of Qatar Major Premier Padel 2023.

The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of finishing smashes, through the validated OASP instrument, according to their effectiveness in men's professional padel. For this purpose, 880 finishing smashes corresponding to matches of the Premier Padel Major tournament played in Qatar during the 2023 season were analysed, performing a descriptive and inferential analysis. The results indicate that 73.18 % of the finishing smashes are winners, while only 26.82 % of the finishing smashes are errors. In addition, the winning final smashes are made from the areas near the net (zones 3 (CSR = 4.9) and 4 (CSR = 5.3)) and to a lesser extent from the middle areas of the court (zones 2 (CSR = 2.6) and 5 (RTC = 2.6)) and are usually flat (CSR = 8.4), parallel (CSR = 5.4) and finishing X3 (CSR = 6.2) or X4 (CSR = 5.0). While the finishing smashes that end in error are usually made from the back court (zones 1 (CSR = 8.9) and 6 (CSR = 6.7)) and are usually cut (CSR = 11.9), crossed (CSR = 5.4) and that end in own court (stay in the net; CSR = 3.9) or opposite court (the ball hits on the glass or the fence directly; CSR = 3.5). Thus, padel players should be aware of these results in order to perform effective smashes in real competition situations to promote success in the match. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]