A ladder tournament is a competitive padel format where players challenge each other to climb the rankings, defend first place and collect points over a set period. Beat the players above you to rise up the ladder — are you ready to climb?
What is a ladder tournament?
In a ladder tournament players are ranked by skill and challenge each other to move up. Win against someone higher and you take their spot.
- A ladder is made up of players ranked by their skill level.
- Players can challenge other players on the ladder to a match.
- If you beat a higher-ranked opponent, you move up the ladder and take their place.
- If you lose to a lower-ranked opponent, you move down the ladder.
- Players earn points based on their results, with more points awarded for beating higher-ranked opponents.
- The player at the top of the ladder when the tournament period ends is declared the winner.
Rules of the ladder
Ladder rules can be adjusted by the organizer to fit the tournament. These are the default rules:
- A challenge expires if the opponent doesn't respond before the suggested date passes. The challenger then wins by walkover, unless the opponent rescheduled and the challenger failed to accept the new date in time.
- A player can only challenge opponents within a set ranking range above or below their own position. The organizer defines this range.
- Players can have only a limited number of open challenges at once. The organizer defines this limit.
- Matches must be played within a set time frame after the challenge is accepted. The challenger defines this time frame.
- The challenger must offer at least 2 date suggestions when issuing a challenge.
- Both opponents must confirm the match result in the app once the match is played.
How do you score in a ladder match?
A ladder challenge is played as a best-of-three-sets padel match.
- A set is won when one team reaches 6 games with a lead of at least 2 games.
- If the set reaches 5–5, two more games are played.
- If the set reaches 6–6, a tiebreak is played to 7 points.
How does a ladder challenge work?
A challenge is a match between two teams on the ladder.
- The challenger issues the challenge, and the opponent must accept or decline before the suggested date passes.
- A challenge must include at least two date suggestions for the opponent to choose from.
- If none of the dates suit, the opponent can propose a new date and time.
- If the opponent accepts, the match is played on the agreed date.
- If the opponent fails to respond in time, the challenger wins by walkover, unless the opponent rescheduled and the challenger didn't accept the new date in time.
How to organize a ladder tournament?
Setting up a ladder tournament is easy. Follow these steps to get started:
- Teams are formed by the participants themselves.
- Participants invite other players to team up and join the ladder.
- If the ladder has already started, new participants are placed at the bottom.
- Once the ladder period begins, participants can challenge each other to matches.
- When the period ends, the organizer marks the ladder as finished and the player at the top is declared the winner.
