How padel Americano works
Everyone plays doubles, but partners change every round so that, over the night, each player partners every other player as evenly as possible. Every match is played to a fixed total of points (for example 24, so a result reads 15–9). Each player keeps the points their side won, and the leaderboard is individual: the player with the most points at the end wins.
The generator above builds each round as you go: it picks who sits out (if anyone), then chooses partners who have played together least, then puts them on courts against opponents they have faced least. With 8 players on 2 courts, 7 rounds gives every player every other player as a partner exactly once.
Americano vs Mexicano
In Americano the partner rotation is planned in advance, so you play with everyone regardless of results. In Mexicano the first round is random, and every round after that is paired from the current standings: on each court the 1st and 4th placed players partner against the 2nd and 3rd, the next four go to the next court, and so on. Mexicano games get closer as the night goes on; Americano is better for mixing a group.
Pairs stay together all night and play a round robin against every other pair. Points are scored per team rather than per player. It suits groups who arrive with a fixed partner.
How many rounds for your group
Rounds needed for every player to partner every other player once, with every court in use:
| Players | Courts | Rounds | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 3 | Everyone partners everyone once |
| 5 | 1 | 5 | One rests per round; perfect rotation |
| 6 | 1 | 8 | Two rest per round; level every 3 rounds |
| 7 | 1 | 11 | Three rest per round; level every 7 rounds |
| 8 | 2 | 7 | Everyone partners everyone once |
| 9 | 2 | 9 | One rests per round; perfect rotation |
| 10 | 2 | 12 | Two rest per round; level every 5 rounds |
| 12 | 3 | 11 | Everyone partners everyone once |
| 16 | 4 | 15 | Everyone partners everyone once |
Most social nights don’t play a full rotation, and that’s fine: stop when court time runs out. Mexicano has no fixed length; 6 to 8 rounds is typical for a two-hour session.
5, 6, 7 or 9 players: sit-outs
Players sit out in rotation. Whoever has sat out least sits out next, so nobody sits out twice before everyone has sat out once. With 5 players on one court, one player rests each round and 5 rounds gives a perfect Americano: everyone rests once and partners every other player once. With 6 players, two rest each round and games are level every 3 rounds. With 7, three rest each round and games are level every 7 rounds. With 9 on two courts, one rests each round and 9 rounds is a perfect rotation.
Sitting out scores nothing and does not count as a game. Because a sit-out can leave someone one game behind mid-tournament, the leaderboard ranks by average points per game played. When everyone has played the same number of games, that is exactly the same order as total points.
Points per match
It depends on court time. 16 points is quick, roughly 10 minutes; 24 points is the most common choice, roughly 15 minutes; 32 points is closer to 20 minutes. Multiples of four share the serve evenly between the four players (for example 6 serves each in a 24-point match). 21 is also popular but does not split evenly between four servers. Allow a couple of minutes between rounds for changeovers.
Questions
How does a padel Americano work?
Everyone plays doubles, but partners change every round so that, over the night, each player partners every other player as evenly as possible. Every match is played to a fixed total of points (for example 24, so a result reads 15–9). Each player keeps the points their side won, and the leaderboard is individual: the player with the most points at the end wins.
What is the difference between Americano and Mexicano?
In Americano the partner rotation is planned in advance, so you play with everyone regardless of results. In Mexicano the first round is random, and every round after that is paired from the current standings: on each court the 1st and 4th placed players partner against the 2nd and 3rd, the next four go to the next court, and so on. Mexicano games get closer as the night goes on; Americano is better for mixing a group.
What is Team Americano?
Pairs stay together all night and play a round robin against every other pair. Points are scored per team rather than per player. It suits groups who arrive with a fixed partner.
How many rounds do I need for N players?
For a full Americano rotation (everyone partners everyone once) you need N − 1 rounds when the number of players is a multiple of four and every court is in use: 3 rounds for 4 players, 7 for 8, 11 for 12, 15 for 16. With fewer courts or an odd number of players it takes longer; the table above gives common cases, and the generator shows the number for your group. You can stop at any round: the leaderboard is fair at every point.
What do I do with 5, 6, 7 or 9 players?
Players sit out in rotation. Whoever has sat out least sits out next, so nobody sits out twice before everyone has sat out once. With 5 players on one court, one player rests each round and 5 rounds gives a perfect Americano: everyone rests once and partners every other player once. With 6 players, two rest each round and games are level every 3 rounds. With 7, three rest each round and games are level every 7 rounds. With 9 on two courts, one rests each round and 9 rounds is a perfect rotation.
How are sit-outs scored?
Sitting out scores nothing and does not count as a game. Because a sit-out can leave someone one game behind mid-tournament, the leaderboard ranks by average points per game played. When everyone has played the same number of games, that is exactly the same order as total points.
How are ties broken?
Ranking is by average points per game, then point difference per game, then wins per game, then name. Players who have not played yet are listed at the bottom.
How many points per match should we play?
It depends on court time. 16 points is quick, roughly 10 minutes; 24 points is the most common choice, roughly 15 minutes; 32 points is closer to 20 minutes. Multiples of four share the serve evenly between the four players (for example 6 serves each in a 24-point match). 21 is also popular but does not split evenly between four servers. Allow a couple of minutes between rounds for changeovers.
Do I need an account or an app?
No. The generator runs entirely in your browser. Tonight’s tournament is saved on your phone so a refresh does not lose it, and the share link carries the results inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Used to run your nights on Padelcups? Here’s how this compares. Playing with the same group every week? Squadel keeps your results, ratings and seasons.