I am a paddle tennis player and finally a smart watch brand has remembered me

I have carried a paddle tennis racket in my hand since I was little. I am worse than hunger, I am not hiding, but I like this sport and I must admit that I look with envy at the fans of, for example, golf or the running. As a lover of smart watches, I have always seen from afar manufacturers launch specific models and functions for runners and golf players with cool metrics, interesting analyzes and specific functions: yes, 3D courses, yes, footfall analysis, yes, that niche data that only the pros care about…

And meanwhile, the padel players we were still thereusing the “tennis” mode that tells us little or nothing or, if available, the “paddle” mode that also does not give information about performance in the match. That’s why, walking through the halls of the Mobile World Congress, I couldn’t help but stop at the Mibro stand. Because? Because their watches have a paddle mode, but a useful one with relevant information for players of this sport. Yes, we really exist.

Padel mode in the Mibro GS Explorer S-Ti | Image: Xataka

My what? Mibro, “your brother in sport”, as one of the company’s workers at the stand tells me with a laugh. Mibro is a company of Zhenshi Information Technology, a Chinese company founded in 2015 with financing from Xiaomi and Nokia. The company specializes in sports wearables and has found a way to increase its presence in the European market in paddle tennis. In fact, they openly recognize it: it is not that padel is gaining traction in China, it is that they know that it is important in Europe and they believe they have a way to differentiate themselves there.

And what do they offer? The company has a catalog of watches with a rather high-mid-range price. The most expensive model is the Mibro GS Explorer Swhich costs 349.99 euros and is made of titanium (it is the one in the photos and I must admit that it feels scary, although I would change the strap, which looks very good, for a silicone one for sports). However, it has cheaper models, such as the GS Active2which remains below 100 euros. The operating system is Mibro Galaxy OS 2.0, a very fancy to call an RTOS system that is very reminiscent of Huawei’s HarmonyOS.

An example of the metrics associated with paddle tennis | Image: Xataka

But let’s talk about padel. The key to these watches, and the reason why they have caught my attention, is because of their paddle tennis analysis. For the uninitiated, in paddle tennis there are different shots: forehand, backhand, volleys, spikes, layups, lobs, drop shots, etc. Understanding well which shots you are doing the most and why can help you understand a match and discover your areas for improvement.

For example: if you have lost a match in which you have made many layups (cut, high and deep shot to keep the net), you may have to work on the volley and the force you apply when hitting, because they have been constantly knocking you out of the net with lobs (high and deep balls). If you have made many lobs and few volleys, layups or shots, it is probably because they have managed to keep you down and have not let you go up to the net to attack.

Analysis of forehands and backhands | Image: Xataka

And that’s where Mibro comes in.. As they have shown us at the stand, the watch is capable of detecting the number and percentage of each of the shots we make in a match. The watch allows us to know how many backhands, drives, layups, spikes, forehand and backhand lobs and forehand and backhand drop shots we have made and, for example, manually cross-check them with our heart rate to see which points have put us in trouble.

Example of analysis of blows | Image: Xataka

Speed ​​of blows | Image: Xataka

It also counts calories and, even more importantly, the speed of the strokes. Although it is easy to associate paddle tennis with strong and very loud hits, the truth is that playing slowly is usually much more effective against players… nervous, let’s say. A weak ball to the side wall will probably do more damage than a strong shot or volley, in the same way that a layup does not necessarily have to be very fast. Knowing that information that, until now, we could not know, can be useful to focus training or take action.

To recognize hits, the device is based on a six-axis accelerometer and intelligent algorithms, as is already done in many other watches and many other sports. How does it work? Unfortunately, and although we always want a padel, we have not had the opportunity to pick up the racket and throw some balls in the halls of the MWC, but the fact that it exists is already progress.

Counting layups and shots | Image: Xataka

An ideal world. At the expense of testing the watch in a real match situation, a function that would make a lot of sense (even via AI) is to be able to cross-reference the heart rate with the shot you have made or with the duration of the points, as well as the number of shots. That would allow us to see at what level of intensity we start to make mistakes, what shots we make when we are tired (perhaps we abuse the shot or miss more layups). The higher the intensity, the more the technique is distorted, and that causes errors. That type of information, well interpreted, is valuable if you are looking to train and improve.

Images | Xataka

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