Padel with five, six, seven, nine or eleven players

How many players rest each round?

Each doubles court needs four players. The number resting is your player count minus four times the courts in use. Even-sized groups such as six also need rest turns.

The table shows the shortest complete cycles for equal scheduled appearances with these court counts. You can repeat a cycle or choose fewer rounds. For example, six players can play six rounds on one court for four matches each.

Seven-player Americano: a one-court example

Seven people can play doubles on one court, with four playing and three resting in each round. This example draw uses seven rounds, so every player gets four matches and three rests. Your generated draw may use different pairings.

Equal appearances do not guarantee a different partner in every match. With this group size and one court, rest fairness comes first. A complete seven-round cycle takes about 82 minutes at ten minutes per round with two-minute changeovers, before warm-up or finishing time.

If you have a shorter booking, use the session time calculator and finish after a complete round. Average points avoid directly penalising the players who have sat out more often.

How Smart Bye rotates the rests

Before each draw, Next Round prioritises players with fewer scheduled matches. When their counts are equal, it prioritises those who last played earlier. This keeps scheduled appearances within one match of each other.

Americano then seeks varied partnerships among the selected players. Mexicano groups the selected players by the standings. With byes, neither format guarantees that every possible partnership will occur exactly once.

Why average points are fairer than totals here

Suppose Alex scores 48 points from four matches, while Sam scores 39 from three. Alex has the higher total, but Sam’s average is higher:

• Alex: 48 ÷ 4 = 12 points per match.
• Sam: 39 ÷ 3 = 13 points per match.

Smart Bye therefore puts Sam above Alex on the primary ranking measure. A rest is neither a zero-point result nor a completed match. There are no invented points added for sitting out.

Use the same match points total throughout the session. The average table uses win rate to break an equal average; exact ties share a rank. Players without a recorded result remain below players who have played.

What Smart Bye can and cannot equalise

Average points remove the direct scoring disadvantage of playing fewer matches. They do not make different opponents equally difficult, guarantee equal partners, or make a one-match average as representative as an eight-match average.

Finish a complete cycle when practical, and judge the table after every court in the round has reported. The draw balances scheduled appearances; an unfinished or unrecorded match still changes how many results are included in the standings.

Set up your uneven group

1. Enter all names and choose Americano or Mexicano.
2. Select the courts you actually have booked.
3. Choose rounds using the table above or your available time.
4. Create the session. Smart Bye and average ranking activate when rest turns are needed.

The round screen identifies who is resting. At the end, your shareable results card shows total points and averages, with the ranking method stated clearly.

Plan around your court booking

A time limit and a round count answer different questions. Use the padel tournament time calculator to allow for warm-up and changeovers in a 60, 90 or 120-minute booking. You can end early; only fully completed rounds count in the final results.