Guidelines for authors

Generalities

The papers submitted to Padel Scientific Journal must be original, unpublished, and shall not be simultaneously submitted for publication to any other journal. There are NO fees for the submission of papers in PadelSciJ. Manuscripts may be submitted for review in either Spanish or English, but final publication will be solely in English.

The papers that do not conform to the format and editorial standards will be returned to their authors for adaptation and modification. Articles will be subjected to a double evaluation process. At first, the Editorial Committee will select the papers received, assessing whether they meet the requirements for quality academic publications. If the manuscript adequately fulfills the conditions defined by the Editorial Board, it will be sent on for the anonymous peer review process by at least two external reviewers. In case of disagreement between the two reviewers of the evaluated article, either a third reviewer or another assessment by the Editorial Committee will be assigned.

Once evaluated, the reviewer´s comments, and the acceptance report, acceptance with modifications or rejection, prepared by the evaluators, will be sent to the authors.

Acceptance and publication of papers: once a paper has been definitively evaluated and accepted, the corresponding author will be notified by email.

The journal establishes the following papers formats:

- Original articles.

- Literature reviews

- Practical and/or didactic experiences, with their corresponding justification and sections, including bibliographical references.

Research Involving Human Participants, Bioethics and Informed Consent

All manuscripts reporting research that involves human participants (including empirical, experimental, observational studies, physiological/biomechanical testing, performance video analysis, or surveys with athletes, coaches, or other populations) must be conducted in strict accordance with the ethical standards of the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki.

  • Institutional Ethical Approval: Authors must explicitly state in the Materials and Methods section (and in the final declarations section) the formal name of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee that approved the research protocol, along with the official approval registration number/code (e.g., “The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of University [Name] (Approval Ref. No. XXX/202X)”). If the study received an official ethics waiver, this must be explicitly stated and justified.

  • Informed Consent: Authors must confirm that written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to study inclusion and data collection. For studies involving minors or adolescent athletes, written informed consent from parents/legal guardians and participant assent must be explicitly documented.

  • Privacy and Data Protection: Authors must ensure total anonymity and confidentiality of the participants, avoiding any identifiable personal data or images without explicit written consent.

Manuscript Preparation and Submission Guidelines

All manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal's OJS platform. To ensure an independent external double-blind peer review process, authors must submit two separate Microsoft Word (.docx) files prepared according to the journal’s official templates:

[Download Template: Title Page & Authorship Details (DOCX)]

(Non-blinded file: author names, affiliations, correspondence, full CRediT, and funding details)

Download Template: Blinded Manuscript - English Version (DOCX)]

(Blinded file for peer review: no author details, official final version)

[Download Template: Blinded Manuscript - Spanish Version (DOCX)]

(Blinded file for peer review: Spanish format, valid option for perreview)

  1. File 1: Title Page & Authorship Details (Title_Page.docx)

A non-blinded document containing complete author metadata, accessible solely by the editorial office:

  • Manuscript Title: In English and Spanish, concise and descriptive.
  • Authors and Institutional Affiliations: Full names and surnames of all authors. Disambiguated indexing names are recommended (e.g., using hyphens for compound surnames: Garcia-Sanchez). Full affiliation hierarchy is required: department, faculty, institution/university, city, and country.
  • ORCID ID: Mandatory active HTTPS link for each author (e.g., [https://orcid.org/0000-000X-XXXX-XXXX](https://orcid.org/0000-000X-XXXX-XXXX)).
  • Corresponding Author: Full name, institutional address, and institutional email.
  • Author Contributions (CRediT): Explicit statement using the CRediT taxonomy linking authors' names/initials to specific roles.
  • Funding: Formal disclosure of funding agencies, grant numbers, and projects.
  • Ethical Approval and Informed Consent: Formal institutional ethics committee name, approval/protocol number, and confirmation of written informed consent.
  • Acknowledgments: Recognition of individuals, sports federations, or institutions providing logistical/technical support.
  1. File 2: Blinded Manuscript (Blinded_Manuscript.docx)

The main manuscript file submitted to external reviewers, strictly free of identifying author or institutional information within the text, tables, figures, or document properties (.docx):

  • Layout and Style: Use the official blinded template. Arial 11 pt (or 12 pt), single (or 1.5) line spacing, 2.5 cm top/bottom margins, and 2 cm side margins. Continuous line numbering must be activated throughout the entire document to assist peer reviewers.
  • Title, Abstract, and Keywords (Bilingual EN/ES):
    • Structured Abstract: Mandatory in English and Spanish (250–300 words), clearly organized into four bold sections: Objectives, Method, Results, and Conclusions.
    • Keywords: 3 to 6 terms (separated by semicolons) sourced from MeSH or DeCS thesauri, avoiding verbatim repetition of title words.
  • Text Structure: Original articles must follow the IMRaD format (1. Introduction, 2. Materials and Methods, 3. Results, 4. Discussion, 5. Conclusions & Practical Applications).
  • Mandatory End-Matter: Positioned before the reference list and phrased anonymously:
    • Author Contributions (CRediT): Generic initials (e.g., "Author A: conceptualization... Author B: data analysis...").
    • Funding: Hidden during review: "[Funding information omitted for double-blind peer review]".
    • Data Availability Statement: Clear statement regarding raw data access (public open repository with DOI, or upon reasonable request).
    • Conflicts of Interest: Explicit disclosure.
    • Generative AI Declaration: Explicit disclosure confirming whether generative AI models were used.
    • Ethical Approval & Informed Consent: Masked as: "[Approved by institutional Ethics Committee, protocol #XXXXX - Omitted for peer review]".
  • Tables and Figures (APA 7th ed.): Embedded near their first in-text mention. Tables must be editable and adhere to the classic "three-line" horizontal format (no vertical lines). Figures must be high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi, JPG/TIFF or vector).
  • References (APA 7th ed.): Alphabetically ordered. All references possessing a DOI must include the persistent HTTPS link ([https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)...).