ALL PADEL INJURIES

Every backhand drive sends vibration through your paddle into the tendons on the outside of your elbow. Over time they get inflamed and sore to touch. This is the most common padel injury — and one that sneaks up on you slowly over many sessions.

The snap-flick needed to power drives and glass shots stresses the tendons running through your wrist. It usually starts as mild stiffness the morning after a long session and gets written off as a sprain — but it won’t go away without rest.

Smashes and serves require your spine to rotate hard and fast. When your core isn’t doing its share of that work, the lower back muscles absorb the load instead — and eventually give way. It tends to keep coming back unless you strengthen the core.

All the sideways cutting and low split-step landings padel demands grind the kneecap against the cartilage underneath it. You’ll feel a dull ache under or around the kneecap — typically worse after sitting for a while or climbing stairs.

Your calf loads like a spring every time you push off hard — sprinting to the net, reacting to a drop shot, accelerating from a standing start. When the load exceeds what the muscle can handle, it tears. You’ll feel a sudden sharp pain, like getting kicked from behind.

Padel courts have a lot of grip. When you change direction fast and your foot stays planted, the ankle rolls outward and overstretches the ligaments on the outside. It can happen in a split second — often on the transition from turf to hard court.

High-volume play on hard court hammers the thick band of tissue along the bottom of your foot. The classic sign: sharp heel pain with your first few steps in the morning that eases off once you get moving. Ignoring it early makes it much harder to shift.