# Padel Fast — full content

> The complete English documentation and FAQ for Padel Fast (https://www.padelfast.com), tournament software for padel. See https://www.padelfast.com/llms.txt for a shorter index with links.

## Tournament formats

### Padel Americano

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/americano

Padel Americano is the easiest and most popular way to run a padel tournament. Partners rotate every round on a fixed schedule, you score individually, and it's fun, fair and social for all levels and ages. An Americano ends once everyone has played with and against everyone.

**What is a padel Americano?**

A padel Americano is a rotating-partner tournament format where you play for yourself but always in a changing pair. It's the most social, beginner-friendly format in padel: you partner and face a different mix of players every round, and the highest individual score wins.

- Every round you get a new partner and new opponents on a pre-set schedule, so no one is locked into the same pairing.
- You play in pairs but score as an individual — your points are yours alone, whoever you're partnered with.
- An Americano is finished once everyone has played with and against everyone, which is why it's the go-to format for social mixers and club nights.
- Because partners rotate and levels mix, Americano is great for beginners — one tough pairing never sinks your whole tournament.

**Rules of padel Americano**

Americano is a rotating-partner format where you play for yourself but always in a pair. These are the rules of padel Americano:

- In Americano you compete individually but play in pairs, so your points are yours alone no matter who you partner.
- Partners and opponents change every round on a pre-set schedule, and the tournament normally ends when everyone has played with and against everyone.
- Each match is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32. Each team serves 2–4 times, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- After all rounds are played, the player (or team) with the most accumulated points across the whole tournament wins.

**How do you score in a padel Americano?**

Americano uses point-per-rally scoring that's tallied per player, not per pair — so even though your partner changes every round, your running total keeps building. Instead of 15, 30, 40 and game, you bank one point for every rally you win.

- Every round runs to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or to a fixed time of 10–20 minutes.
- A pair serves twice in a row, then the serve hands over to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- When the round closes, the score is split out to each player individually: in a 24-point match that ends 10–14, players 1 and 2 take 10 points each and players 3 and 4 take 14 points each.
- Your individual points carry over from round to round, so the player with the biggest total after everyone has partnered everyone wins the Americano.

**How many players do you need for a padel Americano?**

You can run a padel Americano with as few as 4 players (or 3 teams), but a count divisible by four keeps every court full and the rotation clean.

- The minimum is 4 participants or 3 teams — enough to fill one court and start rotating partners.
- A number divisible by four works best, so 8, 12 or 16 players is the social sweet spot for a club Americano.
- There's no real upper limit: add more courts and more players keep rotating with and against each other.
- Plan for 4 players per court — Padel Fast tells you how many courts your headcount needs.

**How to organize a padel Americano tournament?**

Organizing a padel Americano is simple: gather a group divisible by four, set your point target, and let Padel Fast generate the rotation schedule so partners and opponents change every round automatically. You need at least 4 participants or 3 teams.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on the number of participants — plan for 4 players per court.
- Match the number of courts to your player count: 4 players = 1 court, 8 players = 2 courts, and so on.
- Padel Fast auto-generates the partner-rotation schedule and tracks each player's individual score live, so there's no manual draw or paperwork.
- Mixing levels is fine, but if the gaps are too large, split your Americano into separate groups or choose the Mexicano format instead so matches stay even.
- A typical Americano lasts about 2 hours, with a 24-point match taking roughly 10 minutes to play.

**Padel Americano vs Mexicano: what's the difference?**

Both are social, rotating-partner formats scored point-per-rally, but they decide matchups differently. Americano follows a fixed, pre-set schedule so everyone plays with and against everyone; Mexicano builds each round from the live leaderboard.

- In Americano the full schedule is fixed in advance — you'll partner and face everyone exactly as planned.
- In Mexicano the standings drive the draw, so the better you play, the tougher your next opponents become.
- Choose Americano for the most even, social experience across all levels; choose Mexicano when you want skill-based, increasingly competitive matchups.
- If your group's levels vary a lot, Americano split into groups keeps it fun, while Mexicano self-balances the pairings for you.

**Team Americano**

Americano can also be played in teams. Team Americano works exactly like the individual format, but instead of rotating partners you compete in fixed, predetermined pairs while opponents rotate each round.

### Mixed Americano Padel

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/americanomix

Mixed Americano padel is the classic Americano with one rule change: every team is always one man and one woman. Also called Americano Mix or americano mixto, it's a social mixed-doubles format where partners rotate every round and the tournament ends once every man has partnered every woman at least once. You can adapt the man-woman rule to your group too, for example pairing a forehand with a backhand player.

**What is Mixed Americano padel?**

Mixed Americano (Americano Mix) is a rotating-partner padel format where every pair is one man and one woman, so your partner changes every single round.

- It takes the easy, social, all-levels feel of Americano and adds a mixed-doubles twist: you always play alongside a partner of the opposite sex.
- You compete individually but always in a man-woman pair, so your points stay yours no matter who you partner.
- Pairs keep rotating until every man has played with every woman, which is exactly what makes Mixed Americano so social.
- It's a favourite for couples nights, club socials and mixed leagues where everyone wants balanced, friendly games.

**Mixed Americano padel rules**

Mixed Americano keeps Americano's fixed, social rotation but pairs men with women every round. These are the rules of Mixed Americano padel:

- You compete individually but always play in pairs of one man and one woman.
- Partners rotate every round on a pre-set schedule, and the tournament normally ends once every man has partnered every woman.
- Each match is played to a set number of points, usually 16, 24 or 32. Each team serves 2 to 4 times, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- After all rounds are played, the player with the most accumulated points across the whole tournament wins.

**How do you score in Mixed Americano padel?**

Mixed Americano scoring is point-per-rally: instead of 15, 30, 40 and game, your man-woman pair earns one point for every rally you win, and both partners pocket the same points.

- Each match is played to a set number of points, usually 16, 24 or 32, or for a fixed time of 10 to 20 minutes per round.
- Each team serves twice, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team, and both players in that pair receive it.
- When a match ends, the score is credited to each player individually. So a 24-point match finishing 10-14 gives players 1 and 2 ten points each and players 3 and 4 fourteen points each, regardless of which man partnered which woman.

**How to organize a Mixed Americano tournament?**

To run a Mixed Americano you need at least 4 participants or teams. There is no upper limit, but a number evenly divisible by four works best so the man-woman rotation stays clean, and you should aim for an equal number of men and women.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on how many players take part, so plan for 4 players per court.
- Aim for an equal number of men and women so the rotation works out, with every man partnering every woman over the course of the event.
- Match the number of courts to your player count: 4 players = 1 court, 8 players = 2 courts, and so on.
- If you can't get equal men and women, split players into separate groups by what you do have, or switch to standard Americano or Mexicano so nobody sits out unevenly.
- Mixing levels is fine, but if the gaps are too large, split your Mixed Americano into separate groups or choose the Mexicano format instead so matches stay even.
- A typical Mixed Americano lasts about 2 hours, with a 24-point match taking roughly 10 minutes to play.

### Padel Mexicano

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/mexicano

Padel Mexicano is just as social as Americano, but smarter: matchups are decided by the live leaderboard, so the better you play the tougher your opponents become — and vice versa. The result is balanced, competitive games that get tighter every round, which is exactly why Mexicano feels fairer than a fixed Americano schedule.

**What is Padel Mexicano?**

Padel Mexicano is a performance-based, rotating-partner padel format where the live leaderboard — not a fixed schedule — decides who you play with and against in every round. A random draw sets round one, then results reshuffle the standings and pair players of similar form, so games stay close from start to finish.

- Like Americano, you play in pairs but score as an individual, and partners and opponents rotate every round.
- Unlike Americano's pre-set fixture, every Mexicano round is generated fresh from the current leaderboard.
- That ranking-driven pairing is what makes Mexicano more balanced: equal players keep meeting equal players.
- It scales from a casual session to a serious club night without changing the rules.

**Padel Mexicano vs Americano: what's the difference?**

Padel Mexicano vs Americano comes down to one thing: how the matchups are made. Americano locks every pairing into a fixed schedule up front; Mexicano rebuilds the draw each round from the live standings, so the games tighten as the leaderboard settles.

- Americano: partners and opponents follow a pre-set rotation, and it ends once everyone has played with and against everyone.
- Mexicano: only round one is random — every round after is set by the current leaderboard.
- Because Mexicano pairs players on current form, it handles mixed levels better and the matches feel fairer.
- Both use the same point-per-rally scoring, so the only real switch is fixed schedule vs live leaderboard.

**Rules of Padel Mexicano**

Padel Mexicano is a performance-based, rotating-partner format where the standings decide who you play with and against. These are the rules of padel Mexicano:

- A draw — the opening lottery — decides who you play with and against in your very first match.
- From the second match onward, your matchups are set by the results of previous rounds.
- Every new round is built entirely from the current standings on the leaderboard.
- Players are grouped by rank in blocks of four: numbers 1 and 3 play against 2 and 4, 5 and 7 play against 6 and 8, and so on.
- Once the leaderboard stabilizes after a few rounds, the matches become evenly balanced.
- The better you play, the harder your opposition — and the harder your opposition, the more points are on the line.
- In Mexicano you can play with and against the same player more than once.

**How do you score in Mexicano?**

Mexicano uses point-per-rally scoring, and because the leaderboard is built straight from those running totals, every point you win shapes who you face next round. Instead of 15, 30, 40 and game, you earn one point for every rally you win.

- Each match is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or for a fixed time of 10–20 minutes per round.
- Each team serves twice, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- When a match ends, the score is credited to each player individually. If a 24-point match finishes 10–14, players 1 and 2 get 10 points each and players 3 and 4 get 14 points each.
- Those individual totals feed the live leaderboard, and after all rounds are played the player with the most accumulated points wins.

**How to organize a Padel Mexicano tournament?**

To run a padel Mexicano you need at least 4 participants or 4 teams, though 8 or more makes the skill-based pairing really shine, since the leaderboard has more players to balance each round.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on the number of participants — plan for 4 players per court.
- It works best when the number of courts matches your player count, so every player is on court each round.
- Mexicano happily mixes players of different levels, because the live leaderboard balances the matchups for you instead of a fixed schedule.
- A typical Mexicano lasts about 2 hours, with a 24-point match taking roughly 12 minutes to play.
- Use the free Padel Fast app to run the draw and auto-recalculate the rankings and pairings every round — no manual maths between matches.

**Team Mexicano**

Mexicano can also be played in teams. Team Mexicano works exactly like the individual format, but instead of rotating partners you compete in fixed pairs while opponents are matched by the live team standings.

### Mixed Mexicano (Mixicano) Padel

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/mexicanomix

Mixed Mexicano padel — also called Mixicano — is a fun, social format with a competitive edge: matchups are driven by the live leaderboard, so the better you play the tougher the opposition. The twist that makes it mixed is simple — every team is always one man and one woman.

**What is Mixed Mexicano (Mixicano)?**

Mixed Mexicano (Mixicano) is the mixed-gender version of padel Mexicano. You play with rotating partners and the leaderboard decides your matchups, but every single round pairs one man with one woman — so it stays balanced, sociable and ideal for club mixed nights, social mixers and couples or date-night events.

- Mixicano takes Mexicano's performance-based pairing and adds one rule: every team is one man and one woman, every round.
- The live leaderboard ranks players so that, round by round, you're matched with and against players of a similar standing.
- Because partners and opponents keep changing, you meet the whole group while the games stay close and competitive.
- It's a great fit when you want a mixed-gender event that rewards good play without leaving anyone in a mismatched game.

**Rules of Mixed Mexicano (Mixicano)**

Mixicano combines Mexicano's skill-based pairing with mixed-gender teams every round. These are the rules of mixed Mexicano padel:

- Every round, each team is always made up of one man and one woman.
- Chance decides who you play with and against in your very first match.
- From the second match onward, your matchups are set by the results of previous rounds.
- Every new round is built entirely from the current standings on the leaderboard, keeping each team a man-and-woman pair.
- Players are grouped by rank in blocks of four: numbers 1 and 3 play against 2 and 4, 5 and 7 play against 6 and 8, and so on.
- Once the leaderboard stabilizes after a few rounds, the matches become evenly balanced.
- The better you play, the harder your opposition — and the harder your opposition, the more points are on the line.
- In mixed Mexicano you can play with and against the same player more than once.

**How do you score in Mixicano?**

Mixed Mexicano (Mixicano) uses point-per-rally scoring, just like standard Mexicano. Instead of 15, 30, 40 and game, you and your partner earn one point for every rally you win, and those points follow you individually as the man-and-woman teams reshuffle each round.

- Each man-and-woman pairing plays to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or for a fixed time of 10–20 minutes per round.
- Each team serves twice before handing the serve to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- Once the match is done, the score is credited to each player individually — so a 24-point match finishing 10–14 gives players 1 and 2 ten points each and players 3 and 4 fourteen points each, whoever they were partnered with.
- After all rounds are played, the player with the most accumulated points across the tournament wins.

**How to organize a Mixed Mexicano (Mixicano) tournament?**

To run a mixed Mexicano you need at least 4 participants or 4 teams, with an equal number of men and women.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on the number of participants — plan for 4 players per court.
- It works best when the number of courts matches your player count and men and women are balanced.
- Mixed Mexicano happily mixes players of different levels, because the leaderboard balances the man-and-woman matchups for you.
- A typical mixed Mexicano lasts about 2 hours, with a 24-point match taking roughly 12 minutes to play.

### Beat the Box Padel

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/beatthebox

Beat the Box padel is a competitive format that keeps you playing opponents of a similar level. Players compete inside boxes and move up or down between them based on results — like running several Americanos at once with Mexicano-style, performance-based matchups. Ready to beat the box?

**What is Beat the Box in padel?**

In Beat the Box you compete inside boxes and move up or down based on your performance. Each box holds 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 or 16 players who all play together every set, so an 8-player box is two courts running side by side. It's like playing several Americanos at the same time, while Mexicano-style movement up and down between boxes runs across the whole tournament — which makes it ideal for large, mixed-level groups.

- Within a box, everyone partners and faces the other players, exactly like a self-contained Americano.
- Between boxes, performance decides who climbs to a tougher box and who drops to an easier one — the Mexicano-style twist.

**Beat the Box padel rules**

In Beat the Box your opponents aren't fixed in advance — the order of play adapts to previous results, which is what makes it a performance-based format and the main difference from a plain Americano. These are the rules of Beat the Box:

- Chance decides who you play with and against in your first 3, 5, 7, 11 or 15 matches, depending on the box size.
- Within each box, every player gets to play together, so you partner everyone in your box once.
- Each set consists of 3, 5, 7, 11 or 15 matches, depending on the box size.
- Each new set is shaped by the results of previous matches, and strong or weak runs move you up or down a box.
- The better you play, the more closely matched your opponents become.

**How do you score in Beat the Box padel?**

Beat the Box scoring works inside each box first, then feeds the movement between boxes — you can use the standard 15, 30, 40 and game, or point-per-rally where you earn a point for every rally won.

- Each match within the box runs to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or for a fixed time of 10–20 minutes per round.
- A team serves twice, then the serve switches to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- As soon as the match ends, the score is logged for each player individually: a 24-point match finishing 10–14 hands players 1 and 2 ten points each and players 3 and 4 fourteen points each.
- Your totals inside the box decide who moves up to a tougher box and who drops down.

**How to organize a Beat the Box tournament?**

To organize a Beat the Box padel tournament you need at least 8 participants, with the total evenly divisible by 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 or 16 depending on the box size you pick.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on the number of participants — plan for 4 players per court.
- The number of courts must match your player count for the boxes to work: an 8-player box needs 2 courts, a 16-player box needs 4.
- It's good to mix players of different padel levels, since the boxes and the movement between them keep matchups even.
- A typical Beat the Box tournament runs for about 1.5–3 hours, depending on the box size and number of sets.

### Padel Club Clash

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/clash

Padel Club Clash is a club-vs-club team format where two squads of fixed pairs go head-to-head across a full fixture grid. Every pairing faces the opposing team once, points are banked for each win, and the team with the most victories is crowned champion. It is the most direct way to settle a club vs club battle on the padel court.

**What is Club Clash in padel?**

Club Clash is padel's inter-club team format: two teams, each built from fixed pairs, meet in a cross round-robin where every pair plays every pair on the other side once. Think of it as a club-vs-club showdown — your club against theirs — settled by total match wins rather than individual points.

- Club Clash is always a battle between exactly 2 teams, making it ideal for a club vs club tournament or an inter-club team match.
- Each team is made up of fixed pairings that stay together for the whole event, so it plays like a true team-vs-team contest.
- Every result counts toward your side's total, so the format rewards squad depth, not just one star pair.
- The team that wins the most matches across the fixture grid takes the title.

**Rules of Club Clash**

These are the core Club Clash rules that turn padel into a club-vs-club battle between two fixed-pair squads:

- In Club Clash you compete as a team rather than as an individual, so every result counts toward your side's total.
- Each team is built from fixed pairings that stay together for the entire tournament — there is no partner rotation.
- Every win earns the team points, which accumulate round by round across the fixture grid.
- A Club Clash is always played between exactly 2 teams.
- Every pairing in one team plays every pairing in the other team once, in a cross round-robin between the two squads.
- When all matches are complete, the team with the most wins is declared the Club Clash winner.

**How do you score in Club Clash?**

Club Clash scoring is win-based: each cross matchup is played like a normal padel match, then every result is rolled up into the team standings so the squad with the most match wins is champion.

- Each match is played to a set number of points or sets, agreed before the tournament begins.
- Each team serves twice, then the serve passes to the opponents, and every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- Win the match and your squad banks a team point toward your side's running total.
- When a match ends, the result is recorded and added to that team's running total of wins.
- The team holding the most match wins once the grid is complete wins the Club Clash.

**How to organize a Club Clash tournament?**

To organize a Club Clash padel tournament you need exactly two squads, and we recommend at least 16 participants split evenly across the two teams so each side fields enough pairs for the cross round-robin.

- Build two even squads of fixed pairs so every pairing on one side can face every pairing on the other.
- The number of padel courts you need depends on the player count — plan for 4 players per court (4 players = 1 court, 8 players = 2 courts, and so on).
- Run more courts in parallel to play multiple cross matchups at once and keep the fixture grid moving.
- A typical Club Clash runs for about 2 hours, then Padel Fast tallies the wins and crowns the winning team.

### Padel Knockout Tournament

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/knockout

A padel knockout tournament is the classic single-elimination format: win your match and you advance, lose and you're out — no draws, no second chances. With a straight bracket that carries the best teams round by round to the final, it's the most direct way to crown a champion. Build your single-elimination bracket free with Padel Fast.

**Padel knockout tournament rules**

Knockout is a single-elimination bracket where every match is win-or-go-home. These are the rules of a padel knockout tournament:

- The tournament starts with teams paired automatically or seeded manually into the single-elimination bracket.
- The winning team advances to the next round while the losing team is knocked out for good.
- Each round halves the field — quarter-finals, semi-finals, then the final — until the last team standing wins the tournament.
- A knockout match can't end in a draw — a Golden Point is typically used to decide a tight game.
- When the field isn't a power of two, the top seeds get a first-round bye and join in the next round.

**How do you score in a knockout tournament?**

Because knockout is win-or-go-home, the score decides who survives the round — so set it clearly before play begins. You can score however suits your event: either the standard 15, 30, 40 and game, or point-per-rally where you earn a point for every rally won.

- Knockout matches are often a single set or short set to keep the bracket moving, or best-of-three sets for the later rounds and the final.
- With game scoring, a set is won at 6 games with a 2-game lead; at 6–6 a tiebreak decides it.
- With point-per-rally, every rally won gives one point to the winning team, and the team with more points takes the match.
- There are no draws in knockout — a deciding Golden Point settles a tight match so one team always advances.

**How many players are needed for a knockout tournament?**

A knockout works best with a full bracket, so aim for a power-of-two field of teams. Here's how to size your knockout tournament:

- A single-elimination bracket fills cleanly with 4, 8, 16 or 32 teams, so the rounds halve evenly down to the final.
- A 4-team bracket is the smallest that gives you a semi-final and a final; from there it scales as high as you like.
- With log2 of the field you get the round count — 8 teams play 3 rounds, 16 teams play 4 — and a field of n teams plays n−1 matches in total.
- The number of courts depends on how many players take part — as a rule of thumb, plan for 4 players per court.
- If your field isn't a power of two, top seeds take a first-round bye so the bracket still balances.

**How does seeding work in a knockout tournament?**

Seeding ranks your strongest teams and spaces them across the single-elimination bracket so the best pairings are saved for the final rounds, not the first. Here's how seeding and byes work:

- Teams are paired automatically or seeded manually, with the top seeds placed at opposite ends of the bracket.
- Good seeding keeps the strongest teams apart early, so a top-1 vs top-2 clash happens in the final rather than round one.
- When the field isn't a power of two, the highest seeds receive a first-round bye and enter in the second round.
- Skip seeding entirely for a random draw if you'd rather keep the bracket unpredictable.

### Padel Ladder Tournament

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/ladder

A padel ladder tournament is a competitive challenge-based format where players challenge opponents above them to climb the rankings, defend first place and collect points over a set period. Beat the players ahead of you to rise up the ladder and become king of the ladder — are you ready to climb?

**What is a ladder tournament?**

A ladder tournament — sometimes called a challenge ladder or pyramid tournament — is a ranking system where players are listed by skill and challenge each other to move up. Win against someone higher and you take their spot. Here is how the ladder ranking system works:

- A ladder is a list of players ranked by skill level, from the top spot down.
- 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.

**Padel ladder tournament rules**

The challenge rules keep the ladder fair and moving, and the organizer can adjust them to fit the tournament. These are the default padel ladder tournament 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.

**Padel ladder tournament scoring**

Unlike rally-point formats, a ladder challenge is played as a full best-of-three-sets padel match — so scoring follows standard padel set rules and the winner decides who climbs:

- 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.
- The team that wins two sets wins the challenge — and, if they were the challenger ranked below, climbs the ladder.

**How does a ladder challenge work?**

The challenge is the engine of the ladder: it's a single match between two teams that decides who moves up and who moves down. Here is how the challenge system works step by step:

- 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 padel ladder tournament is easy, since matches are arranged one challenge at a time over the period you set. Follow these steps to get started:

- Decide your ladder period — the ladder runs over the set period you choose, with players issuing and accepting challenges throughout.
- Teams are formed by the participants themselves, who invite other players to team up and join the ladder.
- If the ladder has already started, new participants are placed at the bottom and climb from there.
- Once the ladder period begins, participants challenge each other to matches within the ranking range you set.
- When the period ends, the organizer marks the ladder as finished and the player at the top is declared the winner.

### Padel League

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/league

A padel league is a season-long format where players or fixed pairs compete in skill-based divisions over a series of matches. You earn points for results, climb or fall through promotion and relegation, and whoever tops their division at the end of the season is crowned champion.

**How does a padel league work?**

A padel league sorts players into divisions that reflect their skill level, then runs an entire season of matches with points on the line every fixture. Each division can play out as an Americano, round robin, knockout or another underlying format, and the player with the most points when the season ends wins.

- A padel league is made up of divisions that represent the skill level of the players, so you compete against people close to your own standard.
- Players are assigned to divisions based on their skill level and past performance.
- Each division usually contains a set number of players, typically 4–8.
- You play a series of matches against the other players in your division across the season — either solo or in fixed pairs, depending on the format you choose.
- Points are awarded for wins, draws and losses, and the player with the most points at the end of the league wins their division.
- Players are promoted or relegated between divisions based on their performance, so the league keeps re-balancing season after season.

**Padel league scoring and points system**

Padel league scoring rewards consistency over a whole season, not a single result. Points are banked for every fixture based on the outcome, and the standings update as the season plays out.

- Points are awarded for wins, draws and losses across the whole season.
- Each individual match is scored using whichever underlying format you choose for the division — for example Americano, round robin or knockout.
- Every result feeds into your division's points table, so the standings build up over the course of the season.
- Whoever sits top of their division's table when the season closes is the champion.

**Promotion and relegation between divisions**

Promotion and relegation are what make a padel league feel like a real season: do well and you move up to tougher company, slip and you drop down. This is how players move between divisions:

- Each division is ranked on the league table by the points players bank across the season.
- The top finishers in a division earn promotion and move up to the division above for the next season.
- The bottom finishers are relegated and move down to the division below.
- Because everyone shifts up or down on performance, every division stays competitive and matched to skill level.

**How does league scheduling work?**

A padel league runs over weeks rather than a single afternoon, so scheduling is built around player availability across the season. This is how scheduling works in a league:

- The league schedule is usually set in advance, with each player assigned a fixed number of matches to play across the season.
- Players can request changes to the schedule based on their availability.
- Players are notified of their match schedule in advance, usually via notifications or the league's communication channel.
- Players can view their match schedule and results through the app or website.
- The organizer keeps the schedule fair and balanced, taking player availability and other factors into account.

**Automatic scheduling**

Padel Fast streamlines a season's worth of fixtures by automatically generating match schedules from availability and preferences. This pairs players with opponents of similar skill and keeps every division fair and balanced.

- The organizer can select a set of preferences to suit the league's fixtures.
- The organizer can choose which teams or players face each other.
- The organizer can also choose the format, such as knockout, round robin or others.
- A date range can be set to determine when matches are played across the season.
- Once scheduling is complete, the organizer can review an overview of the whole schedule.

**How to organize a padel league?**

Setting up a padel league is straightforward. Follow these steps to organize yours:

- Create a league in the app and fill in the details, such as league name, main location and divisions.
- Invite players to join the league and assign them to divisions based on their skill level — aim for 4–8 players per division.
- Set up the schedule, including match dates and times, and share it with all players.
- Choose the league format, such as knockout, round robin or others, and decide whether players compete solo or in fixed pairs.
- If you're running team-based or individual formats, set up the teams in the divisions in advance.
- Encourage players to take part in their matches and keep their results up to date.
- Monitor the standings and handle promotion, relegation and any schedule adjustments as needed.

### Padel Match Rules

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/match

Padel match rules are simple once you know the basics: a padel match is a 2v2 game played between two teams of two, scored tennis-style, with walls in play and an underhand serve. Learn how to play a padel match — the format, scoring and serving — before you step on court.

- A padel match is played 2v2 — so there are 4 players in a padel match, two per team — unlike a 1v1 singles game.
- The match format can vary, including best-of-three sets, single elimination or round robin, which is why it helps to know the rules before you start.
- Players should agree the match format before play begins so everyone knows how the game is won.
- Your chosen format shapes strategy and preparation, from how you pace points to how you manage the walls.

**What match formats can a padel match use?**

How you play a padel match depends on the tournament or league you're in, so check which format applies before the first serve.

- Best-of-three sets: the first team to win two sets wins the match.
- Single elimination: a team is knocked out of the tournament after losing a match.
- Round robin: every team plays every other team, and the team with the most wins is declared the winner.

**How does scoring work in a padel match?**

Padel scoring uses the same numbers as tennis, with a point won on every rally, and the serving team's score is always called first — plus padel's own Golden Point at deuce.

- Points are scored 15, 30, 40 and game; the server's score is called before the receiver's.
- A game is won when a team reaches four points with a two-point lead.
- At 40–40 (deuce) you either play advantage — win two points in a row to take the game — or, in Golden Point events, a single deciding point where the receiving team chooses which side the serve goes to.
- A set is won when a team reaches six games with a two-game lead; at 6–6 a tiebreak to 7 points is played.

**What are the padel serve and wall rules?**

Padel shares much of its rulebook with tennis but adds the glass walls and an underhand serve that make the game its own — these are the padel rules every beginner needs.

- The serve is hit underarm at or below waist height, bounced once inside the server's own service box, then sent diagonally into the opponent's service box; you get two serves, and a let is replayed if the serve clips the net and still lands in.
- The receiver must let the serve bounce before returning it, and every shot must bounce on the floor before it can hit a wall.
- You win the point if the ball bounces twice on the opponents' floor, or if they hit it into the mesh or fence before it bounces.
- Players can use their own glass and mesh walls to keep the ball in play, but a ball that hits the opponents' wall before bouncing on their floor loses the point.

### Padel Round Robin

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/roundrobin

A padel round robin — or all-play-all — is a tournament format where every contestant meets every other participant in turn. It rewards consistency over a single result and guarantees everyone plenty of matches.

**Rules of Round Robin**

In a padel round robin everyone faces everyone, with points accumulated across all matches. These are the rules of round robin:

- In round robin you compete individually but play in pairs.
- Teams change every round and the tournament normally ends once everyone has played everyone.
- Each match is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32. Each team serves 2–4 times, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- After all matches are played, the player or team with the most accumulated points across the tournament wins.

**How do you score in Round Robin?**

Round robin uses point-per-rally scoring, so consistency across the whole all-play-all matters more than one big result. Instead of 15, 30, 40 and game, you earn one point for every rally you win, and your totals build up across every match.

- Every fixture is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or for a fixed time of 10–20 minutes per round.
- Each team serves twice before the serve passes to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- At the final whistle the score is credited to each player individually: a 24-point fixture that ends 10–14 gives players 1 and 2 ten points each and players 3 and 4 fourteen points each.

**How to organize a Round Robin tournament?**

To organize a padel round robin you need at least 4 participants or 3 teams.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on the number of participants — plan for 4 players per court, and match courts to your count: 4 players = 1 court, 8 players = 2 courts, and so on.
- Mixing levels is fine, but if the gaps are too large, split your round robin into separate groups or choose the Mexicano format instead so matches stay even.
- A typical round robin lasts about 2 hours, with a 24-point match taking roughly 10 minutes to play.

**Team Round Robin**

Round robin can also be played in teams. It works just like the individual round robin, but instead of competing alone you play in fixed, predetermined pairs.

### Winners Lane Padel

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/winnerslane

Winners Lane padel is the King of the Court (also called King of the Hill or Winners Court) format, built on constant movement. Win and you climb to a higher lane and swap partners; lose and you drop down. The team defending the top lane, the Winners Lane, when the final round is played wins the whole tournament.

**What is the Winners Lane in padel?**

The Winners Lane is the top court on the ladder, padel's version of the king's court in King of the Court. It is the prize everyone is climbing toward and the place the eventual champions must defend.

- Courts are stacked into lanes, with the Winners Lane sitting at the very top.
- Every win pushes you up a lane toward the Winners Lane; every loss sends you back down.
- Reaching the Winners Lane is only half the job — you then have to hold it against the challengers climbing up from the lane below.
- Whoever is defending the Winners Lane when the final round ends takes the title, which is exactly how King of the Court crowns its winner.

**Winners Lane padel rules**

Winners Lane follows normal padel rules but adds the climb-the-courts, King of the Court twist. These are the rules of Winners Lane padel:

- Before the first match, teams, opponents and starting lanes are all paired automatically.
- Win and you move up one lane and swap partners; lose and you drop down one lane and also switch partners.
- Once you reach the Winners Lane, your goal flips from climbing to defending your place until the end.
- A team that wins on the Winners Lane stays on it but is split up, partnering the challengers who won their way up from the lane below.
- The team holding the Winners Lane when the final round is played wins the whole tournament.
- A match can't end in a draw — a Golden Point is typically used to decide a tight game.
- The number of rounds is decided before play begins.

**How do you score in Winners Lane padel?**

Scoring keeps Winners Lane moving — every match has a clear winner so teams can climb a lane or drop down before the next round. Score it your way, with the standard 15, 30, 40 and game, or point-per-rally where you earn a point for every rally won.

- Each match is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or for a fixed time of 10–20 minutes per round, so all lanes finish together and swap on cue.
- Each team serves twice, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team, and the higher score takes the lane.
- Win or lose is what moves you, but individual tallies still count: if a 24-point match finishes 10–14, players 1 and 2 get 10 points each and players 3 and 4 get 14 points each.

**How many players and courts do you need for Winners Lane?**

To run a Winners Lane (King of the Court) tournament you need at least 8 players, and the total must be evenly divisible by 4 so every lane fills with two teams.

- The number of padel courts you need depends on the number of players — plan for 4 players per court.
- The number of courts must match your player count for the lanes to work: 8 players = 2 courts, 12 = 3, 16 = 4, and so on.
- It's good to mix players of different padel levels — the climb sorts everyone into competitive lanes within a few rounds.
- Playing time varies with the number of rounds you choose, but plan for at least 1 hour.

**How to organize a Winners Lane tournament?**

Winners Lane is the King of the Court format players love but a headache to track by hand — lanes, partner swaps and promotions change every round. Padel Fast handles the climb for you, and it's a sharper, more dynamic alternative to Americano or Mexicano when you want movement between courts.

- Gather at least 8 players and keep the total divisible by 4, then let Padel Fast set the starting lanes, teams and opponents automatically.
- Set up your courts as lanes, one court per four players, with the Winners Lane at the top.
- Lock in your scoring and round count before play begins so everyone knows how to win the Winners Lane.
- After each round, Padel Fast moves winners up, drops losers down and reshuffles partners, so you just play and chase the top lane.

### Padel World Cup Format

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/formats/worldcup

The padel World Cup format 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.

**What is the padel World Cup format?**

The World Cup is a two-phase padel tournament format: a group stage to separate the contenders, followed by a single-elimination knockout that crowns the champion. It's the same group-stage-into-knockout structure used in football World Cups and pro padel — distilled into one event you can run in an afternoon.

- Teams are drawn into groups of 4, 6 or 8, and every team plays the others in its group once.
- The best teams from the group stage advance into a knockout bracket where it's win or go home.
- You can run a single open draw or split the knockout into skill tiers so similar teams compete for their own title.

**Rules of the padel World Cup format**

These padel World Cup format rules pair a round-robin group stage with a single-elimination knockout, just like Premier Padel and the FIP World Championship:

- 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.
- The 1st and 2nd placed teams in each group advance to Tier 1, while the 3rd and 4th placed teams compete in Tier 2.
- Each tier runs its own knockout phase, so teams play opponents of similar skill levels.
- Both tiers reach their own final, with a champion crowned in each.
- Tier 1 plays for the championship, while Tier 2 competes in a Plate final.

**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 padel 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 padel World Cup tournament?**

Organizing a World Cup comes down to sizing your groups, the knockout bracket and your courts. Follow these steps:

1. Confirm how many teams and players want to take part — plan for 4 players per court, so 4 courts run 8 teams at once — 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 — since the top 2 from each group feed the knockout bracket.
3. Set the tournament rules, including match format, scoring system and tiebreakers, and decide whether to add skill tiers.
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 Padel Fast generate the fixtures and manage the tournament for you automatically.

## Guides

### Creating a tournament

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/creating-a-tournament

Pick a format, set the date, scoring and options, and open your tournament for players to join.

#### Overview

In Padel Fast a tournament is called a matchmaking. You create one from your dashboard, choose how it should be played, and Padel Fast generates the rounds, pairings and scoreboard for you automatically once it starts.

Creation opens a form that slides in from the side. The left side covers the tournament details (title, club, date, entry fee); the right side covers how it is played (format, scoring system and options). You can change most settings later, right up until the tournament starts.

#### Start creating

- Open the create form. From your dashboard, tap the button to create a new tournament. The create panel opens from the right on desktop and from the bottom on mobile.

- Give it a title and description. A default title is filled in automatically based on the format you pick — replace it with your own if you like. The description is optional and shown to players on the tournament page.

- Choose a club (optional). Search for a venue from your added clubs or nearby clubs. Selecting a club shows its location to players and lets you reserve courts if booking is enabled.

- Set the date and time. Pick when the tournament starts. The date cannot be in the past.

#### Choosing a format

The format decides how players are paired and how rounds are generated. Formats fall into two groups: individual formats, where the app pairs players for you, and team formats, where you build fixed pairs or teams before playing.

**Individual formats**

| Format | How it works | Max players |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Americano | Everyone plays with and against everyone; individual points. | 24 |
| Americano Mix | Americano with gender-balanced pairings. | 24 |
| Mexicano | Pairings each round are based on the current standings. | 64 |
| Mexicano Mix | Mexicano with gender-balanced pairings. | 100 |
| Round Robin | Every player plays every other; full schedule. | 100 |
| Ladder | Ongoing ranking; players challenge those above them. | 200 |
| Beat the Box | Group ('box') play in sizes of 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 or 16. | 64 |
| Match / Singles | A single one-off match (2v2 or 1v1). | 2 |

**Team formats**

| Format | How it works | Max players |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Team Americano | Americano played by fixed teams. | 32 |
| Team Mexicano | Standings-based pairings for fixed teams. | 64 |
| Knockout | Single-elimination bracket. | 64 |
| World Cup | Group stage followed by a knockout bracket. | 64 |
| Winning Lane | Tiered play; winners move up, losers move down. | 64 |
| Club Clash | Two teams of 4–10 pairs face off. | 16–40 |
| Team Ladder | Ladder ranking for teams. | 200 |

> Note: The format also sets the maximum number of participants. If you already added more players than a format allows, you will not be able to select it.

#### Scoring system

The scoring system sets how each match is won. Choose the one that fits how long you want matches to last.

| System | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| 16 / 21 / 24 / 32 points | First to (or highest at) the chosen point total wins the match. |
| Custom points | Set your own target point total for every match. |
| Time | Matches run for a set number of minutes; a timer is available in play. |
| Standard | No fixed target — enter the final result yourself. |
| Classic | Traditional tennis scoring (0, 15, 30, 40, game). |

> Note: The Ladder format always uses the Standard system, since matches are played as normal sets rather than to a point total.

#### Settings and options

**Mode**

- Normal — a public tournament anyone can find and join.
- Ranked — a public tournament that affects player ratings. Choosing Ranked lets you set a rating (ELO) filter with a slider, so only players near that level can join, and manual player adding is disabled.

**Duration**

Set how long the tournament runs — commonly 60 to 240 minutes for a single session. Ladder tournaments can instead run over 1, 3 or 6 months.

**Player options**

- Requires organizer approval — new players must be approved by you before they are added.
- Late participation — lets players join after the tournament has already started (supported by Americano, Mexicano, Winning Lane and Ladder formats).

**Resting**

Enable resting to let players sit out a round, and choose how many points a resting player is awarded.

**Entry fee and payments**

- Entrance fee — charge players to enter; set the amount and currency.
- Card payments — collect the fee by card (only available if your account is connected for payments).
- Booking — reserve courts at the selected club.

**Format-specific options**

- Ladder — challenge limit (how many active challenges a player may have), challenge threshold (how far up the ladder a player may challenge), challenge timeout (days before an unanswered challenge expires), optional wildcards, and optional activity points for wins, draws and losses.
- World Cup — teams per group (4, 6 or 8), number of tiers, whether to merge tiers after the group stage, and points awarded per win, draw and loss.
- Mexicano — an optional starting round if you want to begin later than round 1.

#### Linking to a league (optional)

If you organize a league, you can attach the tournament to one of its divisions so results feed into the league standings. This option only appears if you are an organizer of at least one league.

#### Publish

- Create the tournament. Submit the form. You are taken to the tournament page, where you can add players, invite people and share the tournament before starting it.

### Running a tournament

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/running-a-tournament

Start play, enter scores, use match timers, and move through rounds and playoffs to a final result.

#### Starting the tournament

When your players and teams are in place, start the tournament to generate the first round. Before starting, Padel Fast checks that you have a valid line-up for the chosen format.

- Tap Start tournament. The green Start button is in the lobby control bar at the top of the tournament page.

> Note: Starting checks the format's rules — the minimum and maximum number of players, gender balance for Mix formats, and that team formats have complete pairs. If something is missing, you will see a message explaining what to fix.

#### Scoring matches

Once a round is generated, each match shows a score box for both sides. The organizer and the players in a match can enter its result.

- Tap the score on a match card. This opens the score entry for that match.

- Enter the result. For point-based systems you pick from preset score combinations. For time-based and standard systems you enter each side's score with plus/minus buttons. Classic uses traditional tennis values.

Saving a score marks the match as done and updates the live scoreboard immediately. You can tap a completed score again to correct it.

#### Match timers

When the tournament uses the Time scoring system, each match can run on a countdown timer so every court finishes together.

- Tap the timer button on a match. As the organizer, start the timer for a match. You are asked to confirm before it begins.

The match card then shows a live mm:ss countdown. When time is up, an alert tells you the match has ended so you can enter the final score. Timers are shown on the big-screen (TV) view as well.

#### Moving through rounds

**Continue to the next round**

Once every match in a round is scored, a Continue button generates the next round using the current standings. Group and cup formats continue until the final match remains.

**Shuffle (Mexicano)**

In Mexicano tournaments you can re-shuffle the pairings of the current (last) round if you want different matchups. This cannot be undone.

**Revert a round**

For formats that support it, you can revert to the previous round if a round was generated by mistake. This also cannot be undone.

**Skip players**

In Americano and Round Robin formats you can mark players to sit out, so they are left out of the next round's pairings.

#### Playoffs

Most formats can move into a knockout playoff stage after the main rounds. Playoffs create a fresh bracket seeded from the standings.

- Open the options menu and choose Start playoffs. Confirm to begin. Turn on 'only leading players' first if you want to include just the top-ranked players in the bracket.

After each playoff round is completed, a Continue button advances the bracket until a winner is decided.

#### Finishing the tournament

- Choose Finish from the options menu. Finish becomes available once all rounds are complete. It locks in the final standings and produces the result record.

The finished tournament keeps its full scoreboard, which players can view from their profiles.

### Adding players, teams and groups

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/players-teams-groups

Build your line-up: add players individually, pair them into teams, or organize them into groups.

#### Overview

Before starting, you fill the tournament with participants. What you add depends on the format: individual formats need players, team formats need pairs, and group-based formats (like Club Clash) need groups. The lobby control bar at the top of the tournament page shows the buttons for whichever your format uses.

#### Adding players

- Tap Add player. Available for individual formats. The add-player panel opens.

- Add a new player or an existing one. Type a name to create a quick 'guest' player who does not need an account, or add someone you follow directly from your list.

> Note: You can keep adding players up to the format's maximum. In Ranked tournaments, players join themselves rather than being added manually.

#### Adding teams

Team formats are played by fixed pairs. Use Add team to build them.

- Tap Add team. Shown only for team-based formats.

- Pick two players for the pair. Each team is a pair of players and gets a team name (e.g. Team 1). For league tournaments you can add teams from the division's members.

#### Adding groups

Group-based formats such as Club Clash split players into named groups that face each other.

- Tap Add group. Shown for group-based formats. Create a group, give it a name, and add its players. Club Clash uses exactly two groups.

### Inviting players and sharing

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/inviting-and-sharing

Share a tournament with a QR code or key, invite people you follow, and invite a teammate to pair up.

#### Sharing a tournament

Every tournament has a share card with a QR code and a short tournament key. Players scan the code or enter the key to open the tournament's public join page — no account details needed to view it.

- Open the share card. It shows the QR code and the tournament key. Anyone who scans the code lands on the tournament's join page.

- QR code — best for a screen or printout at the venue.
- Tournament key — a short code players can type in to find the tournament.
- Link — the public join page can also be opened directly from a shared link.

#### Inviting players you follow

As the organizer you can invite people directly from your following list.

- Open the invite list. You see the people you follow who are not yet in the tournament.

- Send the invite. The player gets a notification (and a push notification if they use the app) inviting them to join. Tapping it opens the tournament.

#### Inviting a teammate

In team tournaments a player can invite someone to be their partner. This creates an invitation the other person accepts or declines.

- Pending — the invitation has been sent and is waiting for a reply.
- Accepted — the teammate agreed and the pair is added to the tournament.
- Declined — the teammate turned it down.
- Cancelled — the person who sent it withdrew the invitation.

> Note: If the tournament has already started, or requires organizer approval, accepting an invitation creates a join request for the organizer to confirm instead of adding the pair immediately.

### Joining a tournament

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/joining-a-tournament

Join a tournament on your own, or team up with a partner to join together.

#### Overview

You reach a tournament by scanning its QR code, entering its key, opening a shared link, or accepting an invitation. This opens the tournament's join page, which shows the details and current line-up.

#### Joining individually

For individual formats (like Americano or Mexicano) you can join on your own.

- Tap Join. You are added to the tournament's line-up.

- Entry fee — if the tournament charges a fee, you pay before your spot is confirmed.
- Organizer approval — if approval is required, your join becomes a request the organizer confirms, and any fee is handled after approval.

#### Joining as a team

Team formats need a partner. You join by pairing up with someone first.

- Find a teammate. On the join page, choose to team up and pick a partner from the people you follow or search for a player.

- Send the invitation and wait for it to be accepted. Once your partner accepts, your team is added to the tournament together. If you receive an invitation instead, accept it from the invitation card to join as that person's partner.

> Note: If the tournament has already started or requires approval, joining as a team creates a request for the organizer to confirm.

### Displaying on a big screen (TV)

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/big-screen-tv

Cast the live matches and scoreboard to a TV or projector at your venue with narrowcasting.

#### Overview

Narrowcasting is a full-screen view built for a TV, monitor or projector at the venue. It shows the current round's matches alongside the live scoreboard, and updates in real time as scores come in — no interaction needed once it is up.

#### Opening the TV view

- Start the tournament. The TV option becomes available once the tournament is running (it is not used for Ladder tournaments).

- Tap the TV icon. The TV icon in the tournament header opens the full-screen big-screen view. Open it on the device connected to your screen and put the browser in full screen.

#### What the screen shows

- Header — the tournament title, format, date, and a QR code players can scan to open the tournament on their phones.
- Matches panel — the current round's matches as large court cards, with live scores, timers where used, and resting players shown separately.
- Scoreboard panel — the live standings, sortable by score or by wins.

#### Display controls

- Round selector — jump to any round, or let it follow the current one.
- Auto-rotate — cycle the view every few seconds (5s, 15s, 30s or 60s), or keep it fixed.
- Auto-advance — when a round finishes, the screen counts down and moves to the next round automatically.
- Adjustable panels — drag the divider to resize the matches and scoreboard panels; your choice is remembered on that screen.

> Note: Because it saves your layout and rotation preferences on the device, the TV view works well as an unattended kiosk display for the whole event.

### Ladder tournaments

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/ladder-tournaments

Run a long-term ranking where players challenge those above them to climb the ladder.

#### Overview

A ladder is a long-running ranking rather than a one-day event. Every player (or team) holds a placement on the ladder, and improves it by challenging someone above them to a match. Ladders run for 1, 3 or 6 months — when the period ends, whoever holds the top placement is the winner.

The ladder comes in two variants: an individual ladder where each placement is a single player, and a team ladder where each placement is a fixed pair.

#### Creating a ladder

- Pick the Ladder format. In the tournament create form, choose Ladder and then Individual or Teams. Selecting Ladder automatically sets the scoring system to Standard (matches are reported as sets, so the scoring selector is locked) and switches the duration to months: 1, 3 or 6.

- Configure the ladder settings. The format panel shows the ladder-specific options described below. General options — title, description, club, start date, mode, organizer approval, entry fee — work like any other tournament (see the Creating a tournament guide).

| Setting | Default | Range | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Active challenges | Unlimited | Unlimited, 1, 2 or 3 | How many challenges a player may have running at the same time. |
| Challenge threshold | 3 | 1–24 positions | How far above their own placement a player may challenge. |
| Expiration time | 2 days | 1–24 days | How long an opponent has to respond to a challenge before it expires. |
| Wildcards | Off (0) | 0–8 per player | Wildcards let a player challenge beyond the threshold; each player starts with this many. |
| Activity points | Off (3/1/0) | Win 1–20, draw 0–10, loss 0–10 | Points awarded for playing challenges, rewarding active players. |

> Note: Choose the ladder settings carefully — they cannot be changed after the ladder is created. General details like the title, description and dates remain editable.

#### Players joining the ladder

Players join a ladder themselves — the manual Add player button is not available for ladders. Share the ladder the same way as any tournament: QR code, tournament key, link or direct invites.

- Individual ladder — players tap Join and get their own placement.
- Team ladder — a player invites a partner; once the partner accepts, the pair joins with a shared placement.
- Organizer approval and late participation work as usual: joins become requests for you to approve, and with late participation players can join after the ladder has started.

- Start the ladder. When your players are in, tap Start. Starting a ladder requires a Pro subscription. Placements are assigned as the ladder begins, and new late joiners are slotted onto the ladder when they are accepted.

#### How the ladder and placements work

The ladder page shows the leaderboard sorted by placement — the top three wear crowns and your own row is highlighted. Next to each player above you, you'll see a Challenge button when they are within your reach, or Ongoing/Pending if a challenge between you already exists.

- You can only challenge players above your own placement, within the challenge threshold.
- If the challenger wins, they take the defeated player's placement and the loser moves down one.
- If the challenger loses, both stay where they are.

When the ladder's period ends, the player or team holding the highest placement is declared the winner, and challenging closes.

#### The challenge system

**Sending a challenge**

- Tap Challenge next to a player above you. Propose between 2 and 5 possible dates for the match. The opponent gets a notification that you have challenged them.

**Responding to a challenge**

The challenged player sees the request with a countdown and two options: Accept — pick one of the proposed dates and the match is scheduled — or Reschedule — propose 2 to 5 new dates back, which restarts the expiration timer.

> Note: If the opponent does not respond within the expiration time, the challenger is automatically granted the victory. The request card shows exactly how long is left.

**Playing and reporting the match**

An accepted challenge is played as a best-of-three-sets match. The challenger enters the set scores and submits the result; the opponent then confirms it — which finalizes the outcome and updates the placements — or declines it, which resets the scores for re-entry.

**Keeping track**

- Challenges are listed as Ongoing and Finished on the ladder page.
- Every challenge gets its own chat so the players can arrange the match.
- The Active challenges limit caps how many challenges and pending requests a player can have at once.
- As the organizer you can manage any challenge directly — enter the scores yourself and submit, or cancel it.

#### Wildcards

With wildcards enabled, each player starts with the configured number. A Wildcard button appears next to players who are above you but out of normal reach — using it lets you challenge beyond the threshold and consumes one wildcard.

#### Activity points

With activity points enabled, players earn the configured points for every challenge they play — win, draw or loss. They reward the players who keep the ladder alive, alongside their placement.

#### Good to know

- Ladders run on challenges, not rounds — there is no round schedule, no court list, and the big-screen TV view is not used.
- The ladder finishes automatically at the end of its period; there is no manual finish step.
- The dashboard card for a ladder shows its expiration time and challenge threshold at a glance.

### Creating a league

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/creating-a-league

Set up a league with its own branding, divisions and points system for ongoing competition.

#### Overview

A league is a lasting home for ongoing competition. Members play tournaments that count toward division standings over time, with their own leaderboard, seasons and chat. You create a league once, then schedule tournaments inside it whenever you like.

League creation opens a form that slides in from the side, just like tournament creation. You define the league identity, its season dates, participation mode, point distribution, divisions and how many points a win, draw or loss is worth. Most of it can be changed later — only the participation mode is fixed once the league is created.

#### League details

- Open the create form. From your dashboard's leagues view, tap the button to create a new league.

- Add your branding (optional). Upload a banner image and a logo. Both accept common image formats and are shown on the league page and its public join page.

- Fill in name and description. Both are required. The name is how players find your league in search.

- Set the season dates. Use the From and To pickers to define when the current season runs. The dates are shown on the league page and in your leagues list.

- Choose the participation mode. Individual ranks each player on the leaderboard; Team ranks fixed pairs. The mode also decides which tournament formats are available when scheduling league games — and it can't be changed after the league is created.

- Choose the point distribution. This decides what counts as a result in the standings. Game treats each league tournament as one result: the player or team that finishes first on its scoreboard takes the win points and everyone else takes the loss points. Match counts every match played inside a tournament, so each match won, drawn or lost adds its own points. Match is selected by default, and unlike the participation mode you can switch it later from the edit form.

- Add website and Instagram (optional). Shown on the league page so players can find out more about you.

#### Setting up divisions

Divisions split your members into skill levels — Division 1 is the highest. The create form starts with four divisions named Division 1 to Division 4, each shown as a card with its own settings.

- Rename any division to whatever fits your league.
- Remove divisions you don't need — Division 1 always stays.
- Add more divisions, up to a maximum of 10.

Each division card also has Promotion and Demotion toggles with From placement / To placement ranges. When you restart a season, the finishers in the promotion range move to the division above and those in the demotion range move to the division below — automatically. Promotion starts enabled for the top three placements; demotion starts disabled.

> Note: Divisions aren't locked in at creation — you can add, rename or delete them later from the leaderboard's Manage action, and adjust each division's promotion and demotion settings at any time.

#### Series points

Right below the point distribution you set how many standings points each result is worth. These values feed the P column of the leaderboard: with Game distribution they are awarded once per finished league tournament, with Match distribution once per match played inside it.

| Result | Default points | Range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Win | 2 | 1–20 |
| Draw | 1 | 0–10 |
| Loss | 0 | 0–10 |

You can tune these values at creation or later from the edit form — for example award 3 points per win for a football-style table.

> Note: Draws depend on the distribution. With Match, any match that ends level counts as a draw. With Game, a draw only happens when a head-to-head tournament ends level — then everyone in it takes the draw points; every other format always has a single tournament winner.

#### League status and visibility

Every league shows a status badge: Active or Suspended. With an active Manager subscription your leagues are Active — publicly discoverable in search and listings. Without one they are Suspended: still fully usable by members via the direct link, but hidden from public discovery.

> Note: The status updates automatically with your subscription — if a Manager subscription lapses, hosted leagues become Suspended, and reactivating the subscription makes them Active again.

#### Editing your league

- Tap the edit (pencil) icon on the league details card. Only the host sees it. You can change the images, name, description, website, Instagram, point distribution and series points, and rename divisions or adjust their promotion and demotion settings. The participation mode is shown but can't be changed. Division rosters (players and teams) are managed from the leaderboard's Manage action.

> Note: Changing the point distribution or series points recalculates the current season's standings from the results already played. Archived seasons keep the table they were closed with.

### League members and join requests

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/league-members-and-invites

Share the league with a QR code, approve join requests, and manage members and admins.

#### Roles in a league

| Role | What they can do |
| --- | --- |
| Host | The creator. Edits the league, approves join requests, manages members and admins, manages divisions, restarts seasons and exports data. |
| Admin | Appointed by the host. Handles join requests alongside the host, can remove regular members and export the member list. |
| Member | Appears in the roster, uses the league chat, and views the schedule and standings. |
| Visitor | Sees the league page and can send a request to join. |

#### Growing your league

There is no invite button — players join your league themselves. Share the league (see below) and ask players to tap Request to join on the league page; you approve their requests as they arrive.

#### Sharing the league

Tap the share icon next to the league name to show the league QR code. Anyone who scans it lands on the league's public page — ideal to print or show at your club.

The public league page shows the league details and an Open in web button; on a phone it also offers an Open in app shortcut. To join from there, players open the league and tap Request to join — a Padel Fast account is required.

#### Join requests and approval

Players who find your league tap Request to join and pick the division they want to play in — in a Team league, they first pick the teammate they join with. Each request appears as a card at the top of the league page for the host and admins, showing the player (or pair) and the requested division.

- Accept or decline the request. Accepting adds the player to the members list and places them straight into the division they requested — in a Team league, the pair joins as a team. Either way the player is notified of the outcome.

> Note: While a request is pending, the player sees it on the league page and can cancel it. If you decline, they can send a new request later with Request again.

#### Managing members

The members card lists everyone grouped by role — host, admins, then members. Tap Show more (or the +N avatar) to open the full member list, then open the menu next to a member to:

- Make admin / Revoke admin (host only) — share the work of approving requests and managing members.
- Remove from league — this also removes the player from any division and team they were part of.

The host and admins can also export the full member list (name, email, phone, role) as a CSV file with Export members, and the same list has a search field to find someone quickly.

#### League chat

Every league has a members-only chat. The chat card on the league page previews the latest message; opening it shows the full conversation. New messages notify the other members in the app.

### Managing divisions

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/managing-divisions

Add and configure divisions, fill them with players and teams, and set up promotion and relegation.

#### How divisions work

Divisions are your league's skill levels, with Division 1 at the top. Each division has its own roster, linked tournaments, leaderboard and seasons. Whether the roster holds individual players or fixed teams follows the league's participation mode, chosen when the league is created.

You start with the divisions defined at league creation, but they aren't fixed — you can add more (up to 10), rename them and delete ones you no longer need at any time.

#### Opening division management

- Tap Manage next to the division selector. On the league page, the leaderboard area has a division selector; the Manage action (host only) opens the Divisions panel. Pick a division from the pills at the top, then switch between the roster tab (Players or Teams, depending on the participation mode) and Settings. An empty leaderboard also shows a Manage division shortcut.

- Add a division with the Add division chip. It sits next to the division pills and instantly creates the next division (up to a maximum of 10).

- Rename a division from its Settings tab. Edit the name in the settings card and press Save. The same card holds the division's Promotion and Demotion settings.

- Delete a division from its Settings tab. Tap Delete division and confirm. The action is unavailable while only one division remains.

#### Adding players to a division

- Open the roster tab and expand Add players. In an Individual league the roster tab shows Players. You see league members (and your roster players) who are not yet in the division — tap Add next to each player you want in.

> Note: Players who join through a request are placed automatically: they request a specific division, and accepting the request puts them straight into it — no manual add needed.

> Note: A player can be moved between divisions but plays in one division's standings at a time. Adding them to the right level up front keeps the leaderboard meaningful.

#### Adding teams to a division

In a Team league, the roster tab shows Teams instead. Expand Add teams, pick exactly two players, and add the team — the name is optional, so leave it blank to use the suggested one. Players already on a team in any division don't appear in the picker. Both players get a notification that they've been added to the team.

#### Promotion and relegation

Open the menu next to any player or team in a division to move them between levels:

- Promote — moves them one division up (e.g. Division 3 → Division 2).
- Demote — moves them one division down.
- Remove — takes them out of the division (they stay a league member).

Movement can also happen automatically: each division's Settings tab has Promotion and Demotion toggles with From placement / To placement ranges. When the host restarts the season, the finishers in those placement ranges move up or down based on the final standings — see the Division seasons guide for the details.

> Note: The manual Promote and Demote actions are always available, so you stay in control — turn the automatic toggles off if you prefer to decide every move yourself.

### Scheduling league tournaments

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/league-tournaments

Schedule tournaments inside your league and have their results feed the division standings automatically.

#### Overview

League play happens through regular Padel Fast tournaments that are linked to a division. A linked tournament runs like any other — same scoring and flow — but the available formats follow the league's participation mode: a Team league offers team formats only, an Individual league offers every built-in format, and custom builds can't be used for league tournaments. Once it is finished, its results count toward the division's leaderboard.

#### The league schedule

- Open the League Schedule card. The league page has a League Schedule card — press Schedule to open the schedule drawer, which lists the selected division's tournaments grouped by month, with quick chips to jump between months.

- Tap Schedule a game (host). This opens the standard tournament create form — pick the league and division in the League section at the top of the Settings column. Scheduling league games requires an active Manager subscription.

#### Linking any tournament to the league

You can also link a tournament while creating it normally. If you host or administer a league, the League section is the first control under Settings: expand it, pick the league and then the division. The format list below adapts to the league's participation mode right away, and a Remove button clears the link if you change your mind before creating.

> Note: The League section in the create form is a Manager feature — expanding it without an active Manager subscription shows the upgrade options.

#### How results reach the leaderboard

Nothing extra to do: when a linked tournament is finished, the division leaderboard picks up its results automatically. How it pays out follows the league's point distribution: with Game, the tournament winner earns the win points and everyone else the loss points; with Match, every match played inside the tournament earns its own win, draw or loss points. Either way the tournament counts toward each participant's matches played, their score difference is added to their row, and the table is ranked by the P column.

> Note: Only finished tournaments count. An ongoing linked tournament appears in the schedule but doesn't affect the standings until it is completed.

### How the league leaderboard works

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/league-leaderboard

Understand every column of the division standings, how points are earned, and how ties are broken.

#### Where the numbers come from

Each division has its own leaderboard, built from all the finished tournaments linked to that division in the current season. Every player — or fixed team, in a Team league — gets a row that accumulates their results across those tournaments.

What counts as a result depends on the league's point distribution. With Game, every finished tournament is one result — won, drawn or lost. With Match, every match played inside those tournaments is a result of its own. The W, D, L and P columns count results; M always counts tournaments.

> Note: Until the first linked tournament finishes, the leaderboard shows an empty state — hosts also get a Manage division shortcut there that opens division management.

#### The columns

| Column | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| M | Matches — finished tournaments played, shown against the number of tournaments the player or team is entered in, including ones still in progress. |
| W | Wins — tournaments finished in first place (Game) or matches won (Match). |
| D | Draws — results that ended level. A head-to-head tournament that ends level counts as a draw for everyone in it. |
| L | Losses — tournaments played without winning (Game) or matches lost (Match). |
| P | Points — standings points from the league's win, draw and loss values, added up over every result. The table is ranked by this column, so it is always highlighted. |
| +/- | Score difference — points scored minus points conceded across all tournaments. |

The top three rows wear gold, silver and bronze crowns.

#### Point distribution

The P column uses the points you configured for the league (default 2 per win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss). The point distribution decides how often they are paid out:

- Game — each finished tournament pays out once. The player or team that finishes first on its scoreboard takes the win points; everyone else in that tournament records a loss and takes the loss points. Consistency across many events is what climbs the table.
- Match — every match played inside a linked tournament pays out on its own: each match won adds the win points, each match that ends level the draw points, and each match lost the loss points. Playing — and winning — more matches is what climbs the table.
- Either way, a head-to-head tournament that ends level is a draw for everyone in it and awards the draw points.

> Note: The host can change the point distribution and the series points from the league's edit form. The current season's standings are recalculated from the results already played; archived seasons keep the table they were closed with.

#### Ordering and tiebreakers

- Order — the table is ranked by P, the standings points; how those points are earned follows the league's point distribution, Game or Match.
- One table per division — results from every linked tournament count toward the same standings, whatever the format.
- Tiebreakers — equal rows are separated by wins, then draws, then score difference.

Anyone viewing the league can download the standings as a CSV with the Export scoreboard button above the table.

### Division seasons

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/division-seasons

Run your league in seasons: archive the standings, apply promotion and relegation, and browse past results.

#### How seasons work

Seasons are kept per division. The live leaderboard is the current season — there is no separate start action. When a season ends, you restart it: the standings are frozen into an archive, the configured promotions and demotions are applied, and the table starts again from zero.

#### Restarting a season

- Open the Season selector on the leaderboard. It sits with the other leaderboard controls and lists the division's past seasons by date.

- Choose Restart season (host only) and confirm. You are asked to confirm, since this archives the current season, applies the division's configured promotions and demotions, and clears the division's linked tournaments.

Restarting does three things: it saves a snapshot of the division's final standings, it moves the placements configured for promotion and demotion into the neighbouring divisions, and it unlinks all tournaments from the division so the live table resets to zero.

> Note: The tournaments themselves are not deleted — they keep their own results and history. Only their link to the division is cleared. A season can only be restarted if the division has at least one linked tournament.

#### Promotion and relegation

Each division has Promotion and Demotion settings — a toggle plus a From placement / To placement range, found in the Divisions panel's Settings tab or when creating or editing the league. When you restart the season, finishers in the promotion range move to the division above and those in the demotion range move to the division below: individual players in an Individual league, whole teams in a Team league.

- The top division never promotes and the bottom division never demotes — a range without a neighbouring division is simply skipped.
- The confirmation message reports the outcome, including how many were promoted and demoted.

> Note: Promotion starts enabled for the top three placements; demotion starts disabled. Turn the toggles off if you prefer to move players by hand — the manual Promote and Demote actions are always available in division management.

#### Browsing past seasons

Pick any archived season from the Season selector to open its frozen table — a single standings table for the whole season, with the top three marked by crowns. Past seasons are a permanent record of who finished where, and the standings that promotion and relegation were based on.

### Connecting your wallet

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/connecting-your-wallet

Set up the Padel Fast Wallet with Stripe so players can pay entry fees in the app and you get paid to your bank account.

#### Overview

The Wallet is where you accept entry-fee payments for your tournaments and get paid directly to your bank account. Payments are powered by Stripe Connect: Stripe processes every card payment, holds your balance and pays it out to your bank — Padel Fast never stores your card or bank details.

Once your wallet is connected you can enable card payments on any tournament with an entrance fee. Players pay right inside the app, and everything you earn shows up in your wallet dashboard.

**What you get**

- Direct payments — players pay entry fees right inside the app.
- Fast payouts — your earnings land in your bank account automatically.
- Secured by Stripe — every payment is processed securely by Stripe.
- Easy refunds — refund a player in one click when plans change.
- Tax & VAT — charge VAT on your entry fees and show it clearly on receipts.

> Note: The Wallet requires a Pro subscription. If you are not on Pro yet, the setup button takes you to the Subscription page to upgrade first. Padel Fast charges a small service fee on each payment — the exact percentage is always shown in the wallet's fine print and in the checkout breakdown.

#### Setting up payments

- Open the Wallet. Go to your dashboard and choose Wallet under the Payments section of the menu. If you have not connected anything yet, you'll see an introduction to the wallet and its features.

- Tap Set up payments. This creates your wallet and sends you to Stripe's secure onboarding page to fill in your details.

- Complete the Stripe onboarding. Stripe asks for your country, identity details (and business details if you operate as a company) plus the bank account your earnings should be paid to. This all happens on Stripe's own pages — none of it is stored by Padel Fast.

- Return to Padel Fast. When you finish, Stripe sends you back to your wallet dashboard, which updates automatically with your account's verification status.

> Note: The country you choose during onboarding determines your wallet's currency (for example a Swedish account uses SEK). Entrance fees for your tournaments are charged in this currency.

#### Verification and wallet states

After onboarding, Stripe verifies your details. The wallet shows a setup checklist so you always know where you stand:

- Wallet created — done as soon as you start the setup.
- Identity details submitted — done when you complete the Stripe onboarding form.
- Payouts enabled — done once Stripe has verified your identity and bank account.

| State | What you see |
| --- | --- |
| Not connected | An introduction to the wallet with a Set up payments button. |
| Pending | The setup checklist with your progress, a Continue setup button to finish any missing steps, and a notice that your account is still being verified by Stripe. |
| Active | A green Active badge and the full wallet dashboard: revenue, payments, payouts and tax settings. |

> Note: Card payments on your tournaments only become available once the wallet is fully active — that is, when Stripe has enabled both charges and payouts on your account.

#### Your wallet dashboard

Once active, the wallet becomes your payments home. At the top you'll see your business name, email and country next to the Active badge. Below that:

- Revenue — net revenue for the selected month with a comparison to the previous month, plus the gross, fees and refunds breakdown and your top customers.
- Payments — the entry fees players have paid this month, with one-click refunds and receipts (see the Purchases, receipts and refunds guide).
- Payouts — your payout schedule, instant payouts and payout history (see the Payouts, taxes and revenue guide).
- Tax — optional VAT settings for your sales (see the Payouts, taxes and revenue guide).

The Manage wallet button opens your Stripe dashboard, where you can update your bank account and other account details held by Stripe.

#### Good to know

- Padel Fast charges a service fee on each payment; the current percentage is shown in the wallet and at checkout.
- Padel Fast is not a bank — your balance is held and paid out by Stripe.
- Your card and bank details are never stored by Padel Fast.
- By using the wallet you agree to the Padel Fast Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy and the Stripe Connected Account Agreement.
- There is no self-service way to disconnect a wallet once connected — contact support if you need to close or replace your account.

### Payouts, taxes and revenue

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/payouts-and-taxes

Choose how often you get paid, cash out instantly, set up VAT on your entry fees and follow your revenue month by month.

#### Overview

When a player pays an entry fee, the money lands in your wallet balance with the Padel Fast service fee already deducted. From there it is paid out to the bank account you registered during setup — either automatically on a schedule you choose, or manually whenever you want. This guide assumes your wallet is already active (see the Connecting your wallet guide).

Everything in this guide lives on the wallet page: open your dashboard and choose Wallet under the Payments section.

#### Choosing a payout schedule

The Payouts card lets you choose how often your balance is paid out to your bank account. Changes apply immediately.

| Schedule | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Manual | Automatic payouts are paused — you withdraw your balance yourself, for example with an instant payout. |
| Daily | Your balance is paid out automatically every day. |
| Weekly | Your balance is paid out automatically every week. |
| Monthly | Your balance is paid out automatically every month. |

> Note: New payments first spend a short period as a pending balance with Stripe before they become available for payout — so a payout can arrive a few days after the payment itself.

#### Instant payouts

With the schedule set to Manual, an Instant payout button appears showing your instantly available balance. It cashes out to your debit card in minutes rather than days.

- Set the payout schedule to Manual. The instant payout option only shows in manual mode.

- Tap Instant payout. The button shows the amount available for an instant payout. Once confirmed, the money is on its way to your card and the payout appears in your payout history.

> Note: Instant payouts need an instantly-available balance and a debit card on your Stripe account. If the button is disabled or the payout fails, finish your wallet verification first, or wait until pending payments have settled.

#### Payout history and your bank account

The Payout history card lists every payout with its amount, date and status:

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Paid | The payout has arrived in your bank account. |
| Pending | The payout is being prepared by Stripe. |
| In transit | The payout is on its way to your bank. |
| Canceled | The payout was canceled and returned to your balance. |
| Failed | The payout could not be completed — check your bank details. |

To change the bank account your payouts go to, tap Manage wallet at the top of the page — this opens your Stripe dashboard, where your bank and identity details are managed.

#### Setting up tax (VAT)

If you need to charge VAT or sales tax on your entry fees, the Tax card on the wallet page records it correctly and shows it on player receipts. Setup takes under a minute.

- Enable VAT on my sales. Turn on the toggle in the Tax (VAT) card. The card expands with the rate and pricing options.

- Pick your tax rate. Padel Fast suggests rates for your country — the standard rate and, where one exists, the reduced rate that often applies to sports and court bookings. You can also enter a custom rate. Rates can differ by activity, so confirm with your accountant; you can change this anytime.

- Choose how your prices are set. “My prices already include VAT” (recommended) keeps player prices unchanged and just records the VAT part for your books — for example, a 20 EUR fee at 25% is recorded as 16 EUR + 4 EUR VAT. “Add VAT on top” adds the tax at checkout, so players pay more than your listed price.

- Add receipt details (optional) and save. Set the tax name players see at checkout (e.g. Moms, MVA, IVA, TVA) and your VAT registration number, which is shown on player receipts. Then tap Save tax settings.

Once enabled, the tax line appears in the player's checkout breakdown, on their Stripe receipt and in their purchase history, and your wallet shows the tax collected for the month.

> Note: The tax settings record and display tax on your sales — they don't register you with any tax authority or file returns for you. Talk to your accountant about what you need to charge and report.

#### Following your revenue

The revenue card gives you a month-by-month picture of your earnings. Use the month picker to move between months.

- Net revenue — the headline number: gross minus fees and refunds, with a percentage comparison to the previous month.
- Gross — everything players paid that month.
- Fees — the Padel Fast service fees deducted.
- Refunds — the total you refunded to players.
- Top customers — the players who spent the most with you that month.

Below the revenue card, the Payments list shows the individual entry-fee payments behind the numbers — see the Purchases, receipts and refunds guide for how to view receipts and refund players from there.

### Charging entry fees

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/entry-fees

Add an entrance fee to a tournament, collect card payments through your wallet, and handle refunds when plans change.

#### Overview

An entrance fee is set per tournament, when you create it. You choose the amount, and — if your wallet is connected — whether players pay by card in the app. With card payments on, a player's spot is only confirmed once they have paid, so you never chase money on game day.

You can also charge a fee without card payments: the fee is shown to players on the tournament page, but you collect it yourself (for example in cash at the court).

> Note: Collecting card payments requires an active wallet — see the Connecting your wallet guide. Without one, the card payments option doesn't appear and players see that the organizer hasn't finished setting up payments.

#### Enabling the fee

- Open the tournament create form. Entry fees are configured while creating the tournament, in the details side of the form (see the Creating a tournament guide for the rest of the form).

- Turn on Entrance fee. If your wallet is active, this also turns on card payments automatically — you can still toggle “Receive payments from participants” off if you'd rather collect the fee yourself.

- Set the amount. Enter the total each player pays (at least 1). The currency is fixed to your wallet's currency — it's set by the country you chose when connecting your wallet.

- Review the breakdown. With card payments on, the form shows the Total sum players pay, the part you receive, and the Padel Fast service fee that is deducted from each payment, including the current percentage.

- Create the tournament. From now on, joining players are asked to pay. The fee is also shown in your tournaments table on the dashboard.

> Note: Payment settings are locked once the tournament is created — you can't change the fee amount or turn card payments on or off afterwards. If you need a different fee, create a new tournament.

#### How players pay

Players see a “Pay to join” button instead of the normal join button, and pay by card (or Apple Pay / Google Pay where available) in a secure Stripe checkout. The full player experience is covered in the Paying for a tournament guide.

- Without organizer approval — players pay at the moment they join; payment confirms their spot.
- With organizer approval — players request to join first and pay after you approve them, so approve promptly to get paid sooner.

If you enabled VAT in your wallet's tax settings, the tax is calculated and shown to players at checkout and on their receipts automatically.

#### Tracking payments

Every entry fee paid to you appears in your wallet: open the dashboard and choose Wallet under Payments. The Payments card lists who paid, when and how much, and the revenue card sums up the month — see the Purchases, receipts and refunds guide.

#### Refunds

Refunds mostly take care of themselves, and you can always refund someone manually:

- Player leaves — players who leave more than 6 hours before the start are refunded automatically, minus the service fee. Within 6 hours of the start, leaving no longer qualifies for a refund.
- Tournament deleted — all paid players are refunded automatically.
- Manual refund — refund any payment in one click from the wallet's Payments list, whenever you choose.

> Note: The Padel Fast service fee is never refunded, and a refunded player cannot rejoin the tournament. Refunds can take up to 5 business days to reach the player's account.

#### What about leagues?

Entry fees exist on tournaments only — a league has no fee of its own. To charge players in a league, add an entrance fee to each tournament you schedule within it.

### Paying for a tournament

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/paying-for-a-tournament

What happens when a tournament has an entry fee: the checkout, payment methods, receipts and the refund policy.

#### Overview

When a tournament charges an entry fee with card payments, the join button becomes “Pay to join” with the amount shown. Payment happens right on the page in a secure checkout — your spot is confirmed the moment the payment goes through.

Payments are secured by Stripe and go to the tournament's organizer. You need to be signed in to a Padel Fast account to pay.

#### The checkout

- Tap Pay to join. The checkout opens on top of the tournament page with the entry fee summary and payment form.

- Review the breakdown. You see the total you'll pay, and how it splits between the organizer, tax (if the organizer charges VAT — shown with its name and rate) and the Padel Fast service fee percentage.

- Pay. Enter your card details, or use Apple Pay or Google Pay where available. When the payment succeeds you're added to the tournament, and the purchase appears in your dashboard.

> Note: If you see a message that the organizer hasn't finished setting up payments, the organizer's wallet isn't ready yet — try again later or contact them.

#### Tournaments with organizer approval

If the tournament requires organizer approval, you don't pay up front. Joining sends a request; once the organizer approves you, a “Pay” button with the amount appears on the tournament page. Your spot is confirmed when you complete that payment.

#### Refund policy

Refunds are processed automatically if you leave a tournament with an entry fee — but timing matters, and the service fee is non-refundable.

| Situation | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| You leave more than 6 hours before the start | You are refunded automatically, minus the Padel Fast service fee. |
| You leave within 6 hours of the start | You are no longer eligible for a refund. |
| The tournament is cancelled | You are refunded the entry fee automatically; the service fee is not refunded. |
| The organizer refunds you | Organizers can refund any payment from their wallet at any time. |

> Note: A refund can take up to 5 business days to appear in your account. Once refunded, you can't rejoin that tournament.

#### Receipts and your purchases

Stripe emails you a receipt for every successful payment. You can also find all your entry-fee payments — with their status and receipts — under Purchases in your dashboard. See the Purchases, receipts and refunds guide.

### Purchases, receipts and refunds

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/guides/purchases-and-refunds

Find your entry-fee payments and receipts as a player, and view payments and issue refunds as an organizer.

#### Overview

Entry-fee payments show up in two places, depending on which side of them you are on. As a player, your payments and receipts live under Purchases in your dashboard. As an organizer, the payments you receive live in your Wallet, where you can also refund them. Both are under the Payments section of the dashboard menu.

#### Your purchases (players)

- Open Purchases. Go to your dashboard and choose Purchases under the Payments section. Every tournament entry fee you've paid is listed, newest first.

Each purchase shows its status, the date and time, the amount you paid, and — where it applies — the tax portion (with the organizer's tax name and rate) and the service fee. Tap the receipt icon to open the Stripe receipt for a completed payment.

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Pending | The payment is still being settled. |
| Completed | The payment went through — your spot is paid for. |
| Refunded | The payment was returned to you; the amount is shown struck through. |
| Expired | The payment was started but never completed, so it no longer counts. |

> Note: Stripe also emails you a receipt when a payment succeeds. If no receipt is available for a purchase yet, it usually means the payment hasn't settled.

#### Payments you've received (organizers)

- Open the Wallet. Go to your dashboard and choose Wallet under the Payments section. The Payments card lists the entry fees paid to you in the selected month.

- Browse the month's payments. Each row shows the player's name, when they paid, the amount and the service fee deducted. The card shows the most recent payments — tap See all for the month's full list, and use the month picker to look back at earlier months.

From the same list you can open the Stripe receipt for any payment. The revenue card above sums the month up: gross, fees, refunds and net — see the Payouts, taxes and revenue guide.

#### Refunding a player (organizers)

- Find the payment in your wallet's Payments list. Refundable payments show a refund button on their row.

- Tap refund and confirm. You're asked to confirm the amount and the player before the refund is sent. Once processed, the payment shows as refunded with the amount struck through, and it counts towards the Refunds line in your revenue.

Some refunds happen automatically, without you doing anything:

- A player who leaves more than 6 hours before the start is refunded automatically, minus the service fee.
- Deleting a tournament automatically refunds all paid players.

> Note: The Padel Fast service fee is not refundable, refunds can take up to 5 business days to reach the player, and a refunded player cannot rejoin the tournament.

#### Looking for your Pro subscription?

Padel Fast Pro subscriptions are separate from tournament purchases — they are managed under Subscription in the Account section of your dashboard, not in Purchases.

## Frequently asked questions

Source: https://www.padelfast.com/faq

### Getting started

#### What is Padel Fast?

Padel Fast is tournament software for padel. Pick a format, add your players, and it draws the pairings, builds the schedule and keeps the standings updated live — from a Tuesday americano with friends to a full club league season. It runs on the web, iOS and Android, and everything stays in sync across every device.

#### Why should I use Padel Fast?

Because the spreadsheet falls apart the moment somebody is late, a court frees up or an extra player shows up. Padel Fast draws every round for you, lets players enter their own scores from their phones, and updates the standings the second a round ends. Every result also feeds your rating, so even a social night counts towards something.

#### How do I get started?

Create a free account on the web or in the app from the App Store or Google Play. Choose a format, set the date, the courts and the scoring, add your players, and share the event with them. The first round is drawn the moment you start the tournament.

#### Do all players need Padel Fast?

No. Only the host needs the app to create and run an event. Everyone else can still play, and we do recommend they install it — scoring is far quicker when each pair enters the result of the match they just finished and can follow the standings on their own phone.

#### Can I invite my friends?

Yes. Share the event and your friends join from their own phones, score the matches they play and follow the standings as the night goes on. Once you have played together, adding the same group to your next event takes seconds.

#### Can I use Padel Fast for other sports?

Padel Fast is built for padel. The formats, the pairing logic and the rating system are all designed around padel doubles, so while nothing stops you from running another racket sport on the same schedules, the experience is tuned for padel.

### Tournaments & formats

#### Which formats can I run?

Americano and Mexicano with their mix variants, King of the Court, Beat the Box, Round Robin, Ladder, Club Clash, Knockout, World Cup, multi-stage leagues and single matches. Every format handles its own draws, rounds and scoring, and we keep adding new ones — the formats page explains how each one plays.

#### How do I create a tournament?

Start a new tournament in the app or on the web, pick the format and the scoring, set the date, the venue and the number of courts, then add your players. Padel Fast generates the pairings and the round schedule for you, and you can still adjust players and courts right up until the first round starts.

#### Can players join after a tournament has started?

Yes, as long as the organizer allows late entries. Latecomers are worked into the rounds still to come rather than the ones already played, so their results count from the moment they step on court. If you are the one arriving late, check with the organizer first — some formats and draws are easier to extend than others.

#### Who enters the scores?

The players do, from their own phones. Each pair confirms the result of the match they just played, and points, standings and ratings update live on every device in the club. The host can correct any result that was entered wrong.

#### Can I build my own format?

Yes. The tournament builder lets you design a custom format — your own rounds, schedules, brackets and performance-based stages — and then run it exactly like a built-in one, with the same automatic draws, live scoring and ratings.

#### Can I show the tournament on a screen at the club?

Yes. Every tournament has a big-screen view made for the TV next to the courts: the round being played, who is on which court, and the live standings, refreshed as results come in. Open it in any browser at the venue and leave it running.

### Leagues

#### How do leagues work?

A league turns one-off events into an ongoing competition. Add your members, play your matches or connect existing tournaments to the league, and the table updates as results come in. With divisions and seasons, a group of friends, a workplace or a club can keep the same competition running all year.

#### Can I play in more than one league?

Yes. You can be a member of as many leagues as you like — your club league, a work league and a group of friends at the same time. Each keeps its own table, while every result still feeds the same personal rating.

### Ratings & statistics

#### How does the Padel Fast rating work?

Every player has one rating from 0 to 10 that reflects how they have actually played; you may also see it written in points, where 5.0 is the same as 500. You set your starting level when you sign up, and from there every ranked result moves it. The system first predicts the outcome from the gap between the two sides, then moves your rating by the difference between what was expected and what happened — so beating a stronger pair is worth more than beating a weaker one.

#### Does the rating count tournaments as well as single matches?

Both. A one-off ranked match is rated on its own, and a tournament night is rated round by round: every round you played counts as its own match against the opponents you actually faced, not against your final placing. Americanos, mexicanos, leagues and knockouts all feed the same number, and unranked events still show up in your match history without moving your rating.

#### Why do higher-rated players gain fewer points?

Because how much is at stake changes with your level. A strong player who wins a match they were expected to win earns little but loses more when they are beaten, while newer and lower-rated players move in bigger steps so their rating finds its true level quickly. When an underdog beats a favourite, an upset bonus scales the reward up and the favourite's loss down. The result is a ladder that rewards improvement rather than the number of games you play.

#### Can I track my performance?

Yes. Your profile keeps your full match history, your rating over time, and the wins, losses and points from every event you play, so you can see whether your game is genuinely improving and how you compare with the players you play against.

### Clubs & organizers

#### Is Padel Fast suitable for clubs?

Clubs are a large part of who uses it. Your club gets a public page in the worldwide directory, you can run americanos, mexicanos and tournaments on any night that would otherwise be quiet, and recurring leagues, seasons and ratings give members a reason to keep re-booking. Everything runs from one account, however many events you have going at once.

#### Can I use Padel Fast as a business?

Yes. A company subscription puts the plan in your business's name rather than on someone's personal card: pay by card or by invoice, add your organisation and VAT numbers, and every receipt carries the company's details. You can charge entry fees for your events and have the money paid out to the club's account.

#### Can I connect Padel Fast to my club system?

Yes, with the Pro Club plan. It gives you a secure REST API and your own API key, so your booking or member system can sync players under your own customer IDs and enter them into tournaments programmatically, with per-endpoint usage analytics in your dashboard.

### Plans, payments & refunds

#### Do I need to pay to use Padel Fast?

Playing is free: joining events, entering scores, following live results and building a rating cost nothing. Creating and running tournaments needs a plan — Pro Plus for players and casual organizers, Pro Manager for clubs and organizers who also need payments and league tools — and both start with a free trial: 3 days for Pro Plus, 7 days for Pro Manager. If you only run the occasional event, a one-off Day Pass unlocks the Pro tournament features for 6 hours.

#### How do entry-fee payments work?

The organizer sets an entry fee when creating the tournament, and players pay in the app before they join. Payments are handled securely by Stripe, the money lands in the organizer's Padel Fast Wallet, and payouts go from there to their bank account. If you have paid and still can't join, contact your organizer.

#### What do I need in order to accept payments?

A Padel Fast Wallet. Set it up from your dashboard, confirm your details with our payment provider and add the account you want to be paid out to. Once it is verified you can put an entry fee on any tournament you create, follow your balance and payouts in the dashboard, and let refunds be handled automatically. Our support team can help if you get stuck.

#### Are my payment details safe?

Yes. Card payments are processed by our PCI-compliant payment provider, so your card details never touch our servers, and every transaction is encrypted end to end.

#### What happens if I leave a tournament I have paid for?

Refunds are processed automatically when you leave a game with an entry fee — you get the entry fee back, while the service fee is not refundable. If the money does not turn up, contact support and we will look into it.

#### What is the refund policy?

Leave more than 6 hours before the game starts and you are refunded the entry fee minus the service fee. Leave later than that and the entry fee is no longer refundable, because a place in the draw can rarely be filled that close to the start. Refunds can take up to 5 business days to appear on your statement.

#### What if a tournament is cancelled or never finished?

You get the entry fee back in full, automatically, without having to ask. The service fee is the only part that is not refunded.

### Support

#### How do I get help?

Email support@padelfast.com or use the contact form on the site and a real person will get back to you. If you would rather work it out yourself, our guides walk through creating tournaments, running each format, handling payments and everything in between.

#### Can I suggest a feature?

Please do. A large part of Padel Fast exists because a player, an organizer or a club told us what was missing — send it to support@padelfast.com and it goes straight into the roadmap discussion.