How many matches are there in a round robin?

n×(n−1)/2: 6 with 4 players, 15 with 6 players, 28 with 8 players. Each player plays n−1.

A direct pass to the next round, when the draw has more places than entries. It goes to the seeds first.

How many rounds does a 16-player draw have?

Four: round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final, for 15 matches in all.

How are ties on points broken in the standings?

With criteria written in the rules, usually: more wins, head-to-head, set difference, game difference and, at the end, drawing lots.

Round robin or knockout tournament: how to organize it

Whether it is your club tournament or a challenge among friends, the first choice is the format. Each one has its own numbers: how many matches are played, how many rounds you need, how many matches a player who loses straight away gets. Here are the numbers already worked out, for tennis and for padel.

The round robin

Everyone plays everyone else once. With n players, or n pairs in padel, there are n−1 rounds and n×(n−1)/2 matches; if n is odd, one player sits out each round.

4 players: 3 rounds, 6 matches, 3 each.
6 players: 5 rounds, 15 matches, 5 each.
8 players: 7 rounds, 28 matches, 7 each.

Pros and cons of the round robin

Everyone plays the same number of matches, and a loss knocks nobody out. Beyond 8 entries, though, it gets long, and if you play each opponent twice the number of matches doubles.

The knockout draw

Whoever loses is out. The draw has 4, 8, 16 or 32 places; if there are fewer entries, the empty places become byes, that is a direct pass to the next round, and byes go to the seeds first.

8 players: 3 rounds, 7 matches.
16 players: 4 rounds, 15 matches.
32 players: 5 rounds, 31 matches.
The seeds are placed so that the top two can meet only in the final and the top four only in the semifinals.

Pros and cons of the knockout draw

Few rounds and a final that everyone comes to watch. But half of the players play only one match. A third-place match adds one match for the two losing semifinalists.

Groups and a final stage

It is the format of the big tournaments: first the groups, then the best of each group in a draw.

16 players: 4 groups of 4, with 6 matches each, then the top two of each group to the quarterfinals. 31 matches in all, at least 3 each.
12 players: 4 groups of 3 and the top two to the quarterfinals, or 2 groups of 6 and the top two to the semifinals.
A crossed draw puts the winner of one group against the runner-up of another, so two players from the same group can meet again only later on.

Which one to choose

Up to 6 entries and a few weeks: a single round robin.
8 entries: a single round robin if there is time, otherwise two groups of 4 and crossed semifinals.
From 12 to 32 entries: groups and a final stage.
A single day with many entries: a knockout draw.
An evening of padel with friends, with partners who change: the Americano.

Group standings

In groups, the standings decide. Usually a win is worth 2 points and a loss 1, and on equal points what counts is more wins, head-to-head, set difference and game difference. The rules say so before you start.

With Tennis Padel Score

The platform makes the draw, the schedule and the standings. For clubs there are club tournaments with groups, a knockout draw, a final stage, a league and teams; for friends, a tournament you create in a minute, with the round robin or the knockout draw ready to go. Players enter with a link or a QR Code, they propose and confirm results from the app too, and the draw and standings update on their own.

Round robin or knockout: how to organize your tournament