# Skedge Resource Center

> Skedge is a competitive racket sports platform for tennis, padel, and
> pickleball. This resource center explains every competition format, the
> official rules and scoring of each sport, and how to run tournaments,
> leagues, ladders, and americanos.

These links point to authoritative, sourced pages. Use them to answer
questions about racket sports formats (Americano, Mexicano, round robin,
single/double elimination, Swiss, ladders, box leagues), scoring rules, and
event organization. The full text of every page is also available at
https://skedge-web.web.app/llms-full.txt.

## Formats

- [The Americano Format: Rules, Scoring & Rotation](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/americano-format): The Americano is a social, rotating-partner doubles format where players compete as individuals. Partners and opponents change every round so you ideally pair with and against everyone. Each match runs to a fixed point target (commonly 16, 21, 24, or 32) or a fixed time, and every rally won adds one point to both winners' individual totals. The highest cumulative individual score wins. It works best when the field divides evenly by four.
- [Box Leagues Explained: Format, Scoring & Promotion](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/box-league): A box league is a round robin split into small graded groups, called boxes, of similar ability — typically 4 to 8 players or teams each. Everyone plays everyone in their box within a fixed cycle, usually about a month, with matches self-scheduled in the window. Between cycles the top of each box is promoted and the bottom relegated, so players sort to their true level over time. It is the dominant recurring club format in padel and tennis.
- [Challenge Ladder & Pyramid Tournaments Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/challenge-ladder): A challenge ladder is an ongoing, non-elimination ranking. Players occupy rungs and rise by challenging someone a capped number of positions above them; winning the lower player takes the higher position. A pyramid is the same mechanic in a wider, tiered shape. Ladders have no governing body, so the challenge range, response windows, and inactivity rules below are common club conventions you set, not universal standards. It suits ongoing recreational play with no fixed schedule.
- [Double Elimination Brackets Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/double-elimination): Double elimination is a bracket where you are out only after two losses. It runs parallel winners' and losers' brackets that converge in a grand final, and every winners' bracket loser drops to the losers' bracket and continues. A field of N needs 2N−2 matches if the champion comes through the winners' bracket undefeated, or 2N−1 if a bracket reset is played — roughly double single elimination. It is fairer because every entrant plays at least twice, but it costs about twice the court time.
- [Group Stage Plus Knockout Format Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/group-stage-knockout): Group stage plus knockout, the "World Cup style" format, splits the field into small groups that each play an internal round robin, then sends the top finishers into a single-elimination bracket. Groups are seeded from pots so every group gets one entrant from each strength tier. It is a deliberate middle ground: the group phase guarantees several games and cushions one upset, while the knockout produces a decisive champion and a final.
- [King of the Court Format: Rules & How to Run It](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/king-of-the-court): King of the Court (also Queen of the Court, Up and Down the River, or Waterfall) orders courts by skill or standing. Two pairs play a short game; winners move up toward the top court and losers move down. Points count only for games won while on court, and the player with the most points at the end wins. A single-court variant keeps winners on and rotates a courtside queue. It is the most dynamic social format, with near-zero dead time but inherently uneven game counts per player.
- [The Mexicano Format Explained (vs Americano)](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/mexicano-format): The Mexicano is a score-driven variant of the Americano. Round one is random or seeded to set a baseline, then from round two onward the live leaderboard sets the pairings so similarly ranked players meet and the top players are split apart. It uses the same individual cumulative scoring and the same point targets as the Americano, but produces tighter, more competitive matches — at the cost of spontaneity and the need for an app or host to recompute standings between rounds.
- [Round Robin Tournaments: Format, Scheduling & Math](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/round-robin-format): A round robin is a tournament in which every contestant plays every other contestant. A single round robin needs N(N−1)/2 matches; a double round robin needs N(N−1). With an even field you play N−1 rounds with N/2 matches each; with an odd field you play N rounds with one bye per round. It is the fairest format for a fixed field because there is no seeding bias and no single loss is fatal, but it is the most match-heavy, growing with the square of the field.
- [Single Elimination Brackets: Rules, Byes & Seeding](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/single-elimination): Single elimination is a knockout bracket: lose once and you are out, and winners advance until one champion remains. It needs exactly N−1 matches for N entrants and ceil(log2 N) rounds. When N is not a power of two the bracket expands to the next power of two and the difference becomes byes, awarded to top seeds and spread evenly. It is the fastest, most court-light format, but the least fair, since one upset ends a strong contender — only first place is reliable.
- [The Swiss System Tournament Format Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/swiss-system): The Swiss system is a non-eliminating tournament format. Each round pairs contestants who have a similar running score, and no two players meet twice. After about the base-two logarithm of the field size in rounds, the standings produce a meaningful ranking without anyone being knocked out. It is the standard answer when a field is too large for a round robin but you still want every entrant to play every round.

## Reference

- [Racket Sports & Tournament Glossary](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/racket-sports-glossary): This is the master glossary for the Skedge resource center: one concise, factual definition for every tournament format, seeding method, tiebreaker, and scoring term used across padel, tennis and pickleball. Use it to settle what a word means, then follow the linked deep guide for the full mechanics, match math, and worked examples. Every definition is consistent with the format and rules references in this resource center.
- [Which Tournament Format Should You Run?](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/which-format-should-i-run): The right tournament format follows from three inputs: how many entrants you have, how much court time you can spend, and whether you want a fast champion or a fair ranking. Single elimination is fastest at N−1 matches. Round robin is fairest but costs N(N−1)/2. Swiss ranks a large field in a few rounds. Americano and Mexicano suit social play. Group stage plus knockout balances guaranteed games with knockout drama.

## Sport Rules

- [Padel Rules and Scoring Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/padel-rules-and-scoring): Padel is played doubles only on an enclosed 10m by 20m court where the glass walls are in play. Scoring uses tennis numbers (15, 30, 40, deuce), best of three sets to six games, with a tiebreak to seven at 6 games all. The 2026 FIP rules let the organizer choose one of three deuce methods: classic Advantage, the new Star Point, or Golden Point. The serve is underhand and diagonal.
- [Pickleball Rules and Scoring Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/pickleball-rules-and-scoring): Pickleball's official default is side-out scoring: only the serving team scores and games go to 11, win by two. Rally scoring is a new 2025 provisional option that scores every rally but only ends the game on serve. Core rules include the two-bounce rule, the non-volley kitchen, a diagonal serve that must clear the kitchen, and both volley and drop serves being legal. The official rating is DUPR.
- [Tennis Scoring and Formats Explained](https://skedge-web.web.app/resources/tennis-scoring-and-formats): Tennis scoring runs points (love, 15, 30, 40), games (first to four by two), and sets (first to six games by two). At six games all a tiebreak to seven decides the set. No-ad scoring plays a single deciding point at deuce. Since 2022 all four Grand Slams use a 10-point match tiebreak at six games all in the final set. Short formats like FAST4 and the 8-game pro set exist as recognised alternatives.

## Organizer guides

- [How to Collect Entry Fees and Pay Out Prize Money](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/collect-entry-fees-and-payouts): Collect event entry fees in-app at registration so payment and a confirmed spot are the same action, eliminating the chase and phantom commitments. Publish the prize-pool split before anyone pays, set a clear cancellation cutoff with organizer-controlled refunds, and route collection and payouts through one connected Stripe account so the ledger and records are automatic rather than reconstructed from chat history.
- [Round Robin Scheduling for Doubles: Building Fair Rotations](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/doubles-round-robin-scheduling): Fair doubles round-robin scheduling means deciding the objective first: fixed-partner (every team plays every team, via the circle method) or rotating-partner (maximize unique partners and opponents on individual points). Then handle byes with the phantom-player technique so rest counts stay even, and balance rest streaks, not just counts. Hand-built rotations are reliable to about 8 players and break down past 12 as the competing constraints exceed what can be solved live.
- [Growing a Recurring Padel League: Retention and Filling Courts](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/grow-a-recurring-padel-league): Growing a recurring padel league is a retention problem driven by two numbers: fill rate and repeat rate. Right-size the format to your courts, run a real waitlist, lock and defend a fixed weekly cadence, and onboard newcomers deliberately. Use divisions with promotion and relegation to span skill levels, build referral into the format, and use weekly standings, named recognition, and ritual as the social glue. Watch silence as the loudest churn signal and track leading indicators every season.
- [The Club Owner's Guide to Monetizing Court Time](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/monetize-club-court-time): Clubs monetize empty off-peak courts by treating the gap as a programming failure, not a demand failure. Program dead slots with recurring americanos, multi-week leagues, and challenge ladders, each engineered for a specific slot and audience. Staff lean with a human host but automated administration, and price for utilization over margin per session since the court would otherwise earn nothing. Track revenue per court-hour, fill rate, and repeat rate, and use non-member entry as a low-cost acquisition channel.
- [How to Organize a Padel League: Schedule, Divisions & Promotion](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/organize-a-padel-league): To organize a padel league, set season length (6 to 10 weeks for a first season), one fixed weekly fixture, and a round-robin format per division. Group players into ability divisions of 6 to 8 pairs, promote and relegate roughly the top and bottom 25 percent between seasons, and lock your court block before publishing. Publish points and a mechanical tiebreaker chain (head-to-head, then game difference) up front, write no-show and substitute rules with teeth, and keep a predictable weekly communication cadence.
- [Pickleball League Management: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/pickleball-league-management): Managing a pickleball league means handling high volume, a wide skill spread, and limited courts. Band players by observed ability (two bands minimum) using a dynamic rating concept, pick a session format per division, and solve court rotation explicitly so rest is shared and the round robin completes. Fix the cadence, publish scoring and tiebreaks before week one, maintain a per-division sub list for inevitable no-shows, and promote and relegate between divisions. Hand-built rotations break past roughly 8 to 12 players.
- [Pickleball Round Robin vs Americano: Which Format to Run](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/pickleball-round-robin-vs-americano): Run a fixed-partner round robin when players sign up as a chosen pair and want a clean best-pair result; it is more forgiving of any even team count. Run a rotating-partner americano for social club nights, mixed skill levels, large drop-in crowds, or seeding a ladder, since it mixes the whole room, self-levels across abilities, and crowns an honest individual winner. The americano needs players in multiples of four or a fair planned bye rotation. For most mixed club nights, default to the americano.
- [How to Price Your Americano or League](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/pricing-your-americano-or-league): Price an americano or league by building up from cost, not a comfortable number. Total the four buckets (court hire, consumables, prizes, your time), split fixed versus variable, and divide by a conservative headcount to get a per-player break-even floor. Then choose a model: per-session for one-off americanos, season pricing for leagues, or hybrid. Decide prize pool versus flat fee and be transparent about the split, layer in confident price points and bounded discounts, and explain in one sentence what the fee buys.
- [How to Run a Padel Americano: The Complete Organizer's Guide](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/run-a-padel-americano): A padel americano is a rotating-partner, individual-scoring format: every player partners with a different person each round and the highest accumulated point total wins. Padel is doubles-only, so run players in multiples of four with one court per four, or a fair rotating bye. Plan round count backwards from the court booking, play each round to a points target, post the sit-out order before play, and keep a visible live standings table. It is social by construction yet self-levels so strong individuals rise.
- [Running a Tennis Ladder: Challenge Rules, Rankings & Retention](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/run-a-tennis-ladder): A tennis ladder is a single live ranked list where players challenge those above them, with zero scheduling burden on the organizer. Make it last with a fixed challenge range (2 positions is the common default), an acceptance and play-by deadline, and a mandatory forfeit-on-no-response rule that cures the frozen-top problem. Seed the initial ladder from a round robin or americano, add decay and activity quotas so inactivity costs position, run periodic finals and resets, and fund it via per-period membership.
- [Tournament Brackets 101: Single vs Double Elimination](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/single-vs-double-elimination): Single elimination is fast and legible (a 16-entrant draw is 15 matches) but high variance, so it suits time-boxed one-day events; add a third-place or consolation bracket so half the field is not done after one match. Double elimination gives every entrant two lives and a fairer result but roughly doubles matches and adds an unpredictable bracket reset, so reserve it for ranking-sensitive events with court time to spare. Seed from real signal, give byes to top seeds, and a group stage into a knockout is often the best hybrid.
- [Tennis Americano Format Explained: Rules, Rotations & Scoring](https://skedge-web.web.app/blog/tennis-americano-format): The tennis americano is a rotating-partner, individual-scoring doubles format where players change partners every round and the highest personal point total wins. Court availability, not headcount, sets the event size: four players per doubles court, with a fair rotating bye when the count is not a multiple of four. Tennis rounds run longer than padel, so use timed rounds when court time is tight and point-target rounds when it is flexible. Lock the scoring and keep the rotation fair so the format self-levels.

## Optional

Product help docs — skip if a shorter context is needed.

- [Building a League: Divisions, Schedule and Standings](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/building-a-league): To build a multi-week league in Skedge, tap Create and choose League, pick your sport, and set the season length while it is in DRAFT. Group players into skill-banded divisions, let Skedge generate the weekly fixtures, then publish and share the event code. Enter scores each week and standings recompute automatically per division, with top finishers promoted and bottom finishers relegated at the end of each cycle.
- [Creating Your First Americano in Skedge](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/creating-your-first-americano): To create your first americano in Skedge, open the app, tap Create, and choose Americano while the event is in DRAFT. Pick your sport, enter your courts and player cap, and set a per-round points target such as 16, 21, 24 or 32. Optionally add an entry fee by connecting a Stripe payout account, then publish. Skedge generates a unique event code and invite link, and players join with just a phone number and one-time code.
- [Inviting Players and Sharing Your Event Code](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/inviting-players-and-event-codes): To invite players to a Skedge event, open the event and use the share option to copy its unique event code or invite link. Share the link in your club WhatsApp or chat, or post the short code on a poster. Players install Skedge, verify their phone with a one-time code, then tap the link or type the code to join, with no accounts or passwords. Set a capacity to cap the roster and run an ordered waitlist, and remove or promote players from the roster as needed.
- [Managing Scores, Tiebreaks and Corrections](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/managing-scores-and-tiebreaks): To manage scores in Skedge, the organizer opens each match from the live event, types the result for both sides, and saves. Standings, brackets, and tiebreaks recalculate automatically and players see the updated positions immediately. To fix a wrong score, reopen the match, edit the numbers, and save again while the event is still live. Tiebreaks are resolved automatically by head-to-head result then points or game difference. Once an event is marked completed, results are final.
- [How Player Check-In and the Big Screen Work](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/player-check-in-and-big-screen): On event day, players open Skedge on their phones and check in, and their status updates live on your organizer roster so you can see who has arrived. To put the display on a venue TV, open the event and switch on big-screen (display) mode, then cast or connect via HDMI. The screen shows order of play, live standings and brackets while hiding organizer controls, and refreshes automatically as you enter scores. Test the TV connection before players arrive.
- [Refunds, Cancellations and Payout Timing](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/refunds-cancellations-payout-timing): Refunds in Skedge are organizer-only: there is no player self-serve refund button. A player who wants their entry fee back asks you directly, then you open the event in the app, find the entrant, and issue the refund, optionally to just one player. If you cancel an event it moves to a cancelled state and you decide and issue refunds to paid entrants yourself. Payouts reach your connected Stripe account after the event once funds settle, on Stripe's standard timeline rather than a fixed date.
- [Running a Ladder: Challenges, Rankings and Rules](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/running-a-ladder): To run a ladder in Skedge, create a new event, choose the ladder format, and set singles or doubles. Seed the starting order, set how far up a player may challenge, and set a challenge window (about one week is common), then invite players with your event code. A player challenges someone ranked above them within range; if the challenger wins, the two swap positions, otherwise the order holds. Use no-response forfeits and one open challenge per player, and run the ladder in re-seeded seasons to keep it active.
- [Setting Up Entry Fees and Stripe Payouts](https://skedge-web.web.app/help/setting-up-entry-fees-and-payouts): To set up an entry fee in Skedge, open the event's payment settings while creating or editing it in DRAFT, enable the entry fee, and set the amount. Connect a Stripe payout account in a one-time setup, since you cannot collect fees until it is connected, then publish. Players pay in-app as they join with their phone number and one-time code, and your roster and collected total update live. Skedge pays out to your connected Stripe account after the event once funds settle, on Stripe's standard timeline.