Rules
Seven ways to fill a court. Pick a format to see how it plays and scores.
Americano
The social classic: a different partner (almost) every round, and every point you win counts toward your own total.
- Players
- 4+, even
- Partners
- Rotate every round
- Each match
- Fixed total, 16–32 pts
- Ranked by
- Total points
Scoring
Each match shares out a fixed number of points (commonly 32, or 24 / 16 for a shorter night). Every point your pair wins is credited to both of you — win 20–12 and you each bank 20.
Partner rotation
A fixed schedule, not a random shuffle: over the event every player partners every other player exactly once. N players take N − 1 rounds.
Courts & breaks
Four players per court. When the numbers don't divide evenly — or there are fewer courts than the roster fills — pairs take turns sitting out, spread fairly across the event. Courts rotate too, so nobody is stuck on one all night.
Ranking
Total points, then point difference, then wins, then name. No sets or games — just the running total.
Mexicano
Americano scoring, but each round is paired from the current ranking — so the matches get tighter as the night goes on.
- Players
- 4+
- Partners
- Re-paired each round
- Each match
- Fixed total, 16–32 pts
- Ranked by
- Total points
Scoring
Exactly as Americano: a fixed points total per match, every point credited to both players on the pair.
Dynamic pairing
Before each round players are ranked by their running total and grouped in fours down the table. On each court 1 & 4 play 2 & 3 — strongest with weakest, against the middle two.
One round at a time
Each round depends on the last one's results, so the next round is only drawn once every court has its score.
Ranking
Total points, then point difference, then wins, then name.
Team Americano
Bring your partner. Pairs stay together all event and play every other pair once.
- Players
- 4+, in pairs
- Partners
- Fixed for the event
- Each match
- Fixed total, 16–32 pts
- Ranked by
- Team points
Pairs
Players pair up once everyone has joined — click two names to make a team, or let the app pair the rest at random.
Round-robin
Every team plays every other team once: N teams take N − 1 rounds. With an odd number of teams, one sits out each round in turn.
Scoring & ranking
Americano scoring, credited to the team: total points, then point difference, then wins. Standings list teams, not players.
Mixed Americano
A standard Americano rotation with the partnerships arranged to stay balanced — for example, always one man and one woman per pair.
- Players
- 4+, even
- Partners
- Rotate, kept balanced
- Each match
- Fixed total, 16–32 pts
- Ranked by
- Total points
Rotation
The same everyone-partners-everyone schedule as Americano, with the partnerships arranged to stay balanced.
Scoring & ranking
Identical to Americano: points credited to both partners, ranked on the individual running total.
King of the Court
Fast and loud: short games, no waiting around between them, and the best pair spends the night defending the King's Court.
- Players
- 6+, even
- Partners
- Fixed — by hand or random
- Each match
- First to 6, 10, 12 or 16
- Ranked by
- Games won
Games
Each game is a race to the target picked at setup. First pair there wins — no draws.
The court
The first court is the King's Court. Winners stay on; losers go to the back of the queue and the pair at the front steps on. With more courts, winners move up a court and losers move down — the bottom court's losers join the queue.
Non-stop
The next game is set the moment the last score is saved. Fix a wrong score before the new game starts and it's re-drawn.
Scoring & ranking
One point per game won, to each player on the winning pair — nothing for time in the queue. Most games won, then point difference, then points. Play as long as you like and hit “Finish & rank”.
Regular Matchup
A proper padel match for four — then run it back as often as you like.
- Players
- Exactly 4
- Partners
- Fixed — by hand or random
- Each match
- Best of 3 sets
- Ranked by
- Matches won
Sets
A set is won 6–0 to 6–4, 7–5, or 7–6 after a tie-break. At one set all, the decider is a full set or a super tie-break to 10 (win by 2).
Scoring
Enter the games for each set; the app works out who won. The third set only opens at one set all.
Rematches
Once a match is scored, start another — same pairs, switching ends each time.
Ranking
Matches won, then set difference, then sets won.
Knockout
The classic single-elimination format: win your match and you advance, lose and you're out — no draws, no second chances. A straight bracket carries the best teams round by round to the final, the most direct way to crown a champion.
- Players
- 8+, in pairs
- Partners
- Fixed — seeded or random
- Each match
- 1 set, best of 3, or points
- Ranked by
- Last team standing
The bracket
Teams are paired automatically or seeded manually into a single-elimination bracket. The winning team advances to the next round; the losing team is knocked out for good.
Rounds
Each round halves the field — quarter-finals, semi-finals, then the final — until the last team standing wins. Log2 of the field gives the rounds (8 teams play 3, 16 play 4), and a field of n teams plays n − 1 matches in total.
Seeding & byes
Seeding spaces the strongest teams across the bracket, top seeds at opposite ends, so a 1 v 2 clash can only come in the final. A bracket fills cleanly with 4, 8, 16 or 32 teams; otherwise the top seeds get a first-round bye and join in round two. Skip seeding for a random draw if you'd rather keep it unpredictable.
Scoring
Set it before play begins: one set (6 games with a 2-game lead, tie-break at 6–6), best of three sets (the decider may be a super tie-break), or point-per-rally, first to 11, 15 or 21. Many events play the final as best of three.
No draws
A knockout match always has a winner — a deciding Golden Point settles deuce in game scoring, and a points race ends the moment one team gets there.
Seeding groups
Optionally start like a regular season before the playoffs: teams play a round-robin in groups of 4 or 6, and the top teams of each group (you choose how many) go through. Group winners are seeded first, then runners-up, and teams from the same group are kept apart in the first round.
Courts
Plan for 4 players per court. Matches go on as soon as both teams are known; with fewer courts, they wait their turn.