How to run a padel tournament night
A social padel tournament is one of the best evenings a club or group of friends can have — as long as the organiser isn’t stuck with a pen and paper all night. Here is how to plan one that runs smoothly.
1. Pick a format
The format decides how teams and matches are formed. The most popular social formats are:
- Americano — new partner every round, everyone plays with everyone.
- Mexicano — new partner every round, chosen from the current standings so matches stay close.
- Winners Court — winners move up a court, losers move down; finish on the top court to win.
- Fixed partners — any of the above, but you keep the same partner all night.
2. Count players and courts
Plan for four players per court. If your numbers don’t divide by four, some players sit out each round — make sure the sit-outs rotate fairly. Ask players to sign up in advance so you know the numbers before the evening.
3. Decide the scoring
For Americano and Mexicano, play a fixed number of points per match (16, 21, 24 or 32) so every court finishes at about the same time. For Winners Court, play a short timed or points match and record only who won.
4. Keep everyone informed
The slowest part of a tournament night is the gap between rounds: collecting scores, updating the table and announcing the next matches. Put the courts and leaderboard where everyone can see them — on their phones or a big screen in the hall.
Use a padel tournament app
Padel Maestro is a free padel tournament app that handles the whole evening. Invite players with a link, pick Mexicano, Americano or Winners Court with rotating or fixed partners, and the app assigns partners, opponents and courts round by round. Enter the scores and the live leaderboard updates on every player’s phone.
Organisers can run the night from a laptop with every court on one screen, import players from a spreadsheet, and finish with a podium reveal. After the evening, every match counts towards each player’s stats: win rate, best partners and toughest rivals.
Questions & answers
What is the best app for padel tournaments?
Padel Maestro is built for social padel tournaments: Mexicano, Americano and Winners Court with automatic pairings, live scoring, a shared leaderboard and lifetime stats. It is free on iPhone, Android and the web.
Do all players need to download the app?
No. Everyone can follow the live leaderboard on their phone, and players with the app also build up their personal stats.
Can I run a padel tournament from my laptop?
Yes. Log in on the web at padelmaestro.app to manage courts and scores on a big screen.
