How long should a padel tournament take?

Padel tournament time calculator

Enter the length of your court booking and reserve time for warm-up and finishing up. The estimate allows two minutes between rounds for moving courts and entering scores. Courts play at the same time, so adding courts does not multiply the session length.

In this organiser, matches finish at the agreed points total, such as 24 points between both teams. The timer does not stop a match or enter a result. If matches take longer than expected, play fewer rounds.

How many rounds fit into 60, 90 or 120 minutes?

These are planning examples, not guarantees that a 24-point match takes ten minutes. Change the estimate to reflect your players. The calculation is: rounds × round minutes + (rounds − 1) × two-minute changeovers. The largest whole number of rounds that fits is used, up to 40.

With several courts, allow for the slowest match in each round. A fast finish on one court does not mean the next complete round can start.

A practical 90-minute Americano or Mexicano

1. Before your booking: collect first names, agree the points total and decide who will record scores.
2. First five minutes: warm up and explain the format. Eight players need two courts for everyone to play each round.
3. Next 80 minutes: start the playing countdown. At ten minutes per round, six rounds plus changeovers leave some breathing room. Americano prepares the draw; Mexicano draws each next round from the scores.
4. Final five minutes: confirm the last complete round, finish the tournament and save or share the results.

The calculator sets an 80-minute playing countdown for this example, not a 90-minute countdown. Start it after warming up. The allowance is already removed, so do not subtract it again.

Set up this Americano → Use Mexicano instead →

Can everyone partner everyone within the booking?

With eight players on two courts, a complete Americano partner rotation needs seven rounds. At ten minutes per round plus six two-minute changeovers, that is 82 minutes of play and changeovers. Add a ten-minute allowance and the total is 92 minutes, so it does not fit the 90-minute example above.

You can use a shorter estimated round length if realistic, play a partial rotation or book longer. Do not promise a full rotation just because the calculator suggests enough rounds: the available courts and rest turns matter too.

With seven players on one court, seven rounds give each person four matches and three rests. With nine players on two courts, nine rounds give each person eight matches. See the Smart Bye schedules and scoring examples before choosing a round count.

What if the booking ends before all rounds are finished?

Choose End tournament whenever you need to stop. The final table counts only rounds with a saved result on every court. Unfinished rounds remain saved but are excluded, including a court that has finished while another court in that round has not.

For example, if five rounds are complete and only one of two courts has finished round six, the final results use rounds one to five. The round-six score remains available if you reopen the tournament. If players have played different numbers of counted matches, Smart Bye uses averages.

For a hard court-booking deadline, avoid starting a round you are unlikely to finish. The session countdown is a reminder and does not automatically end play. If no rounds are complete, there is no winner.