Padel match stats to track
Six numbers cover almost everything useful about a padel match: the set scores, the duration, the total points won by each pair, how many tiebreaks were played, your average and peak heart rate, and the active calories. Everything past that needs video or sensors that padel apps do not have.
Set scores plus total points, together
The set scores say who won. The total points say how close it was. A 6-4, 6-4 win with the points at 96 to 83 was a real contest; the same score with 96 to 61 was not.
That gap is the most useful single comparison in a padel record, because it separates the matches that were close from the ones the scoreline flatters. The padel scoring rules explain how points turn into games and sets.
Duration and tiebreaks played
Duration is the plainest measure of how hard the session was. Two matches at 6-3, 6-3 can differ by half an hour, and the longer one is the one your legs remember.
Tiebreaks played is a small number with a lot of signal. A pair that reaches 6-6 often is close to the level it is playing at, which is when a change of partner or format can help. Note whether the deciding set was a full set or a super tiebreak, because the two are different matches.
Heart rate and active calories
Average heart rate places the match against your other training. Peak heart rate tells you whether there were passages that really pushed you, which averages flatten out. Both come from the workout session on Apple Watch, which Apple's documentation says generates high frequency heart rate samples. The guide on what Apple Watch records covers how a padel match ends up in Health.
Active calories is the number to treat with most caution. HealthKit defines active energy as the energy burned through physical activity and exercise, excluding resting energy, and the system records it automatically on Apple Watch. It is still an estimate, useful for comparing your own matches to each other and not much use for comparing against anybody else.
Which padel stats can you skip?
Winners, unforced errors, smash counts and court position all need either video or a coach with a clipboard. Self reported versions of them are guesses, and a record full of guesses is worse than a short accurate one.
The one addition that pays for itself is the format the match was played under. A 10-8 super tiebreak and a 10-8 third set played without a tiebreak look identical in a list and describe different matches, so record which rules were in force. If you would rather not type numbers into a note after every match, keeping score on your wrist saves them with the match.
Questions people also ask
Is total points won a better measure than the set score?
It is a better measure of how close the match was, not of who won. Read them together: the set score is the result, the point total is the margin.
How accurate are calories from a padel match?
It is an estimate built from the watch's sensors, so treat it as a way to compare your own matches rather than an exact figure.
Can I record heart rate in padel with an iPhone alone?
Not without an external heart rate sensor. Apple's HealthKit documentation says collecting heart rate on iPhone or iPad requires pairing with one, because those devices do not have a heart rate sensor. An Apple Watch does.
Learn more: Can I record heart rate in padel with an iPhone alone?Does Padel Score Tracker track winners and unforced errors?
No. It saves set scores, duration, total points won by each pair, tiebreaks played, the rules used, and heart rate and active energy from the workout session. Winners and unforced errors need video or manual tagging.