Vitamins and Minerals for Padel PlayersAn Evidence-Based Review
Most supplements sold to athletes are unnecessary. A few are genuinely important. This guide tells you which micronutrients matter for padel performance, which are commonly deficient in court sport athletes, and which ones to avoid — especially on training days.
of athletes — estimated prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in indoor sport athletes
enzymatic reactions — bodily processes that depend on adequate magnesium
ng/mL ferritin — optimal iron storage level for athletic performance
In short: the micronutrients most relevant for padel players are Vitamin D (bone health, muscle function, immune system), Magnesium (energy metabolism, cramping), Iron (endurance, recovery — test before supplementing), and Zinc (immune function, wound healing). Vitamin C at 200-500mg/day supports tendon health. Antioxidant megadosing (high-dose Vitamin C and E) on training days actively blunts adaptation — avoid it.
Vitamin D: The Deficiency Nobody Talks About
Critical for bone health, muscle function, and immune response — and endemic among court athletes
Vitamin D deficiency is endemic among indoor and morning court athletes. Unlike outdoor endurance athletes who generate Vitamin D through sun exposure during long training sessions, padel players often play on indoor courts, play early morning or evening sessions, or live in latitudes where sunlight is insufficient for cutaneous synthesis for months of the year.
Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin — it functions as a hormone with receptors in virtually every tissue including skeletal muscle. Deficiency is associated with reduced muscle strength and power output, impaired immune function (increased frequency of illness), decreased bone mineral density (relevant for stress fractures and overall skeletal resilience), and mood dysregulation that can affect motivation and recovery.
Standard maintenance dose for athletes is 2000-4000 IU per day (50-100 mcg). Blood testing (25-OH Vitamin D serum level) is the only reliable way to know if you are deficient. Optimal range for athletes is generally considered 40-80 ng/mL. Supplementation at maintenance doses is safe and the risk of deficiency far outweighs the risk of supplementing at these levels.
Take 2000-4000 IU daily with your largest meal (Vitamin D is fat-soluble and absorbs better with dietary fat). Test your serum 25-OH Vitamin D level once a year, ideally in late winter when levels are lowest. If your level is below 30 ng/mL, discuss a short-term higher-dose protocol with your doctor.
Magnesium: The Athlete’s Most Under-Rated Mineral
Over 300 enzymatic reactions — and commonly depleted by high training loads
Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions including energy metabolism (ATP synthesis), protein synthesis, and muscle and nerve function. Athletes under high training load have elevated magnesium requirements due to increased urinary and sweat losses, and surveys consistently show that a significant proportion of athletes have inadequate dietary magnesium intake.
Symptoms of magnesium insufficiency include muscle cramps (particularly common in padel players during hot conditions or long matches), sleep disruption, impaired recovery between sessions, and heightened fatigue. These symptoms are often vague and attributed to overtraining or poor sleep when magnesium insufficiency is the actual driver.
Dietary sources: leafy greens (spinach, kale), nuts (almonds, cashews), pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, legumes, and whole grains. If dietary intake is low, supplementation with magnesium glycinate or malate (200-400mg/day) is preferred — these forms have higher bioavailability and fewer gastrointestinal side effects than magnesium oxide, which is cheaper but poorly absorbed.
Choosing the Right Form of Magnesium
Magnesium Glycinate (best for most players)
High bioavailability, gentle on digestion, supports sleep. The preferred form for athletes who want to address deficiency without gastrointestinal side effects. Take 200-400mg in the evening.
Magnesium Malate (best for energy)
Malic acid is involved in the Krebs cycle (energy production). Preferred by players focused on reducing exercise-related fatigue. Take in the morning or pre-training.
Magnesium Oxide (avoid)
The cheapest form found in most budget supplements. Bioavailability is poor — only about 4% is absorbed. It primarily acts as a laxative rather than a mineral supplement. Check your supplement label and avoid this form.
Iron: Test Before You Supplement
Relevant for female players and high-load athletes — but dangerous without testing
Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in athletes and is disproportionately prevalent among female players and those with high training loads. Iron is central to oxygen transport (haemoglobin), energy metabolism (in mitochondrial enzymes), and immune function. Even sub-clinical iron insufficiency — where haemoglobin levels are normal but iron stores (ferritin) are low — measurably reduces endurance performance, impairs recovery, and causes unexplained fatigue.
Symptoms to watch for: unexplained fatigue that does not resolve with rest, performance declining despite maintained training, slow recovery between sessions, frequent illness, and in some players, cravings for non-food substances like ice or clay. These are not diagnostic alone but warrant a blood test.
Critical: do not supplement iron without testing ferritin levels. Iron overload is toxic and is not corrected by stopping supplementation. The target ferritin level for athletic performance is 50-100 ng/mL — below 30 ng/mL is insufficient even if haemoglobin is normal. If ferritin is low, iron supplementation should be guided by a doctor, including the form, dose, and duration.
Iron excess is toxic and accumulates in organs including the liver and heart. The condition (haemochromatosis-like overload) is not easily reversed by stopping supplementation.
Request a full iron panel (serum ferritin, serum iron, TIBC, transferrin saturation) — not just haemoglobin. Normal haemoglobin does not rule out iron insufficiency affecting performance.
Zinc: Immune Function, Testosterone, and Wound Healing
Lost in sweat — and often insufficient in plant-heavy diets
Zinc is involved in immune function, testosterone synthesis, protein synthesis, and wound healing. Athletes lose zinc through sweat, and players with high weekly match loads or high sweat rates can deplete zinc meaningfully over time. Plant-based diets are a risk factor for zinc insufficiency because phytates in grains and legumes bind zinc and reduce its absorption.
Zinc insufficiency symptoms overlap with magnesium and iron deficiency (fatigue, slow recovery, impaired immune function) making identification difficult without blood testing. Supplementation at 15-25mg per day is appropriate for players with low dietary intake — animal proteins (meat, shellfish, eggs, dairy) are zinc-dense, while plant sources are lower and less bioavailable.
Note: zinc and iron compete for absorption. If supplementing both, take them at different times of day. High-dose zinc supplementation (above 40mg/day) can interfere with copper absorption — another reason to keep supplementation at evidence-based levels rather than assuming more is better.
Vitamin C: Relevant for Tendons — Not for Megadosing
200-500mg per day is adequate; high doses on training days blunt adaptation
Vitamin C serves two roles relevant to padel players: as an antioxidant neutralising reactive oxygen species (ROS), and as a required cofactor for collagen synthesis. Collagen is the structural protein of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage — the tissues most commonly damaged in padel. Adequate Vitamin C status supports tendon health and collagen repair during injury recovery.
Evidence-based intake: 200-500mg per day is sufficient for most athletes. This level is achievable through diet (bell peppers, citrus, kiwi, broccoli) or a standard supplement. A dose of 500mg taken with a collagen-containing meal (or collagen supplement) 30-60 minutes before exercise may enhance collagen synthesis in connective tissue.
What NOT to do: High-dose Vitamin C (above 1000mg, and especially 2000mg+) on training days is contraindicated for athletes who want adaptation from training. Exercise-induced ROS are not only damaging — they are also signalling molecules that trigger training adaptations (mitochondrial biogenesis, improved antioxidant enzyme production). Megadosing antioxidants on training days blunts this signal and reduces the training benefit. This is one of the few cases in sports nutrition where more is demonstrably worse.
B Vitamins: Energy Metabolism and When Deficiency Is Relevant
Unlikely to be deficient in well-nourished players — but critical in restricted diets
The B vitamin complex (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12) is critical for energy metabolism, red blood cell production, and nervous system function. B vitamins act as coenzymes in the metabolic pathways that convert carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into ATP — the energy currency your muscles use during every padel rally.
For most padel players eating a varied diet that includes animal products, B vitamin deficiency is uncommon. The risk groups are: strict vegans (who may be deficient in B12, which is found almost exclusively in animal foods), players with very restricted caloric intake, and players with gastrointestinal conditions affecting absorption.
B12 deserves specific attention for plant-based players: it is not reliably available from any plant food source. Fortified foods and supplementation are the only reliable options. A standard B12 supplement (methylcobalamin, 500-1000mcg/day) or a general B-complex covers this requirement effectively. If you eat a varied omnivore diet, a separate B-complex supplement is unlikely to add any performance benefit.
What NOT to Take: The Antioxidant Megadosing Problem
High-dose Vitamin C and E on training days actively reduces your training gains
The counterintuitive finding in sports nutrition research is that high-dose antioxidant supplementation — specifically Vitamin C above 1000mg and Vitamin E above 400 IU per day during training periods — blunts training adaptation. The mechanism is well-established: exercise generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause cellular stress, but this same stress is the signal that drives mitochondrial biogenesis, upregulation of endogenous antioxidant enzymes (like superoxide dismutase), and cardiovascular adaptation.
When you flood your system with exogenous antioxidants, you neutralise the ROS that trigger these adaptations. The result: impaired VO2max development, reduced mitochondrial density gains from aerobic training, and blunted endurance adaptation — all while your training load stays the same.
The practical guidance: keep Vitamin C below 500mg on training days and use Vitamin E from food sources (nuts, seeds, olive oil) rather than supplements during heavy training blocks. This does not apply to injury recovery periods (when you are not training hard) — antioxidants during recovery are appropriate and potentially beneficial.
Do not take high-dose Vitamin C (1000mg+) or Vitamin E (400 IU+) supplements on training days. They reduce the adaptation signal from your training session.
A standard multivitamin (typically 80-200mg Vitamin C) is fine. The risk is with targeted high-dose antioxidant products marketed as “recovery” supplements.
Antioxidant megadosing is appropriate during injury recovery when you are not training hard — the signalling-blunting effect requires active training to be relevant.
You know the feeling — you buy every recovery supplement available, stack your shelf with vitamin bottles, and still feel flat on the court. Most players don’t realise that antioxidant megadosing is actively working against their training. What actually works is fixing the deficiencies that are real — Vitamin D, magnesium — and stopping the supplements that are blunting your gains.
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Vitamins for Padel Players: Frequently Asked Questions
Which vitamins do padel players actually need to supplement?
The most commonly deficient and most impactful for padel players are Vitamin D (especially for indoor or early-morning players), Magnesium (if dietary intake is low and training load is high), and B12 (for plant-based players). Iron and Zinc are relevant for some players but should be tested before supplementing. Most other vitamins are adequately covered by a varied diet.
Should padel players take a daily multivitamin?
A standard multivitamin is not harmful and provides reasonable baseline coverage. However, it does not replace a good diet and is unlikely to meaningfully improve performance in players who already eat adequately. The higher-value approach is identifying specific deficiencies through blood testing and addressing them directly, rather than taking a low-dose multivitamin and assuming coverage is complete.
Why should I avoid high-dose antioxidants on training days?
Exercise generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause cellular stress. This stress is the signalling mechanism that drives training adaptations including mitochondrial biogenesis and cardiovascular improvement. High-dose Vitamin C (above 1000mg) and Vitamin E (above 400 IU) neutralise these ROS and blunt the adaptation signal. The result is reduced training gains from the same training load. Keep Vitamin C below 500mg on training days.
What is the best magnesium supplement form for athletes?
Magnesium glycinate and magnesium malate have the highest bioavailability and fewest side effects. Magnesium glycinate is preferred for sleep and general supplementation; magnesium malate is preferred for energy and reducing exercise fatigue. Avoid magnesium oxide — it is the cheapest form but has approximately 4% bioavailability and primarily functions as a laxative rather than a mineral supplement.
Do I need to test my Vitamin D level before supplementing?
Testing is ideal and allows you to know your baseline, but maintenance-dose supplementation (2000-4000 IU/day) is safe for most adults without testing. The risk of toxicity at these doses is low, and the prevalence of deficiency in court athletes is high enough that supplementation is often appropriate regardless of testing. If you want to take a higher corrective dose (above 4000 IU/day), testing first and involving a doctor is recommended.
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