World Cup

The World Cup is a fast-paced padel format that mirrors the pros: teams are drawn into groups of four, six or eight, play a group stage, then advance to a single-elimination knockout. The bracket runs until one team is crowned World Cup champion.

Rules of the World Cup format

The World Cup combines a group stage with a knockout bracket, just like Premier Padel and the FIP World Championship. These are the rules:

• Each group consists of 4, 6 or 8 teams, and every team plays each other team in its group once.
• The top 2 teams from each group advance to the next stage of the tournament.
• After the group stage, the qualifying teams enter a single-elimination knockout phase.
• In the knockout phase, teams play one-off matches where the loser is eliminated.
• The knockout phase continues until 2 teams remain, who then meet in the final to decide the championship.
• If teams are tied in the group stage, tiebreakers such as point differential or head-to-head results decide who advances.
• Matches are played on standard padel courts under official rules and regulations.
• Each team must keep 2 players on court at all times.
• Substitutions are allowed between matches but not during a match.

Tiers in the World Cup (optional)

Want to run the World Cup across multiple skill levels? You can split the knockout into tiers so teams of similar ability compete for their own title. Here is how tiers work:

• By default, the tournament is created with 1 tier.
• When setting up the World Cup, you can choose between 1 or 2 tiers.
• With 2 tiers, teams are divided into Tier 1 and Tier 2 for the knockout phase.
• In the knockout phase, teams play one-off matches where the loser is eliminated.
• The knockout phase continues until 2 teams remain, who then meet in the final to decide the championship.
• If teams are tied in the group stage, tiebreakers such as point differential or head-to-head results decide who advances.

Merging tiers in the World Cup (optional)

You can also merge tiers to create a more inclusive World Cup. Here is how merged tiers work:

• By default, tiers are not merged.
• When setting up the World Cup, you can choose to merge tiers by selecting the option.
• With merged tiers, the winning teams from the knockout phase compete in a single final stage for one championship.
• This makes for a more diverse competition, as teams from different skill levels face off against each other.

How do you score in the World Cup?

World Cup matches are traditionally scored on rally points, but the scoring system can be tailored to your tournament. Here are the common options:

• A predetermined number of points, such as 11, 15 or 21 points per match.
• A best-of-sets format, where the team that wins the majority of sets wins the match.
• A set is typically won by the first team to reach 6 games with a margin of at least 2 games.
• If a set reaches 6–6, a tiebreak is played to decide the set.
• In the knockout phase, matches may be played as a single set or as best-of-three sets.
• Whatever scoring system you choose, communicate it clearly to all participants before the tournament begins.

How to organize a World Cup tournament?

To organize a World Cup padel tournament, follow these steps:

1. Confirm how many teams and players want to take part, then decide on your group size (4, 6 or 8 teams per group).
2. Make sure you have a minimum of 2 groups — that's required to run the World Cup format.
3. Set the tournament rules, including match format, scoring system and tiebreakers.
4. Schedule the matches with enough rest time between games.
5. Work out how many courts you need based on the number of matches and the time available.
6. Let PadelFast generate the fixtures and manage the tournament for you automatically.