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Game formats

Different formats pair players in completely different ways. A session with a fixed partner is a different evening from a rotating one. Every paduno listing names its format, and this page says exactly what each one means: the rotation, the scoring and how long you are on court.

  1. stranger
  2. fourth
  3. regular
  4. crew
  5. competitor
House rules

Two different things live on this page. The underlying sport follows the International Padel Federation rules. Americano and Mexicano are social event formats, not FIP competition formats. There is no single official version of either, so the version below is paduno's, published here so you know what you are entering. The League and the Open are paduno competitions run under FIP rules with the match formats stated below.

The five formats

Every one of them puts four players on a court. That number never changes.

  • Two players tapping rackets over the net
    Social · beginners

    First Timers

    For people who have never played, or have had one or two goes. Twenty minutes of basics from your captain (grip, the serve, how to use the back glass), then short games with changing partners so you meet everyone on your court.

    Full format rules
    On court
    4 players a court, 2 a side
    Partners
    Change between short games, on a schedule your captain posts at the start
    Scoring
    Games to 7 points, deciding point at 6–6. Rally scoring, so every point counts whoever served. No sets, no running total between pairs.
    Length
    90 minutes, including the coaching
    Level band
    1.0–2.0
    Rackets
    Included. Bring flat-soled trainers and nothing else.
  • Two players at the net during a rally
    Social

    Social Doubles

    Standard padel, played socially. You are paired with another player at the start of the session and you keep that partner for the whole session. Your pair plays a series of short matches against the other pairs in your level band.

    Full format rules
    On court
    4 players a court, 2 a side
    Partners
    Fixed. Book with someone and you play with them. Book alone and your captain pairs you by level at check-in.
    Scoring
    Standard padel scoring (15, 30, 40, game) with a deciding point at 40–40. Matches are a single set to 4 games, tie-break to 7 at 4–4.
    Rounds
    Three matches against different pairs in the session
    Length
    90 minutes
    Counts towards
    Your paduno rating, once rating is live
  • A player striking the ball outdoors
    Social · rotating partners

    Americano Social

    A rotating-partner event. You play a series of short rounds, with a different partner in each, and the points you personally win are added up across the whole session. There is an individual winner at the end, not a winning pair.

    Full format rules
    On court
    4 players a court, 2 a side
    Partners
    A new partner each round, on a fixed schedule printed and handed out before the first serve. With four players on a court there are exactly three possible pairings, so a four-player group plays three rounds before anyone repeats a partner.
    Scoring
    Each round is played to 16 points using rally scoring: every rally is a point, whoever served. First pair to 16 ends the round. You bank the points you won, not the result, so losing 16–14 is a good round.
    Rounds
    Six to eight rounds in 90 minutes, depending on how quickly the courts finish
    Sitting out
    Nobody does. Courts only go live with four booked, and if somebody drops out on the night the captain plays in their place. If a round is ever played three-a-side or with someone sitting out, your spot is refunded under the Full Court Guarantee.
    Length
    90 minutes
  • A player mid-rally on an indoor court
    Competitive social · rotating partners

    Mexicano

    An Americano that re-draws itself. Instead of a fixed schedule, each round's pairings are calculated from the standings so far, so games get closer as the evening goes on and the strongest players end up playing each other.

    Full format rules
    On court
    4 players a court, 2 a side
    The pairing rule
    Round one is drawn at random within the level band. After every round, all players are ranked by points won. The top four go to court one, the next four to court two, and so on. Within each group of four, first partners fourth against second and third. That is the whole algorithm.
    Scoring
    Rounds to 21 points, rally scoring. You bank the points you won.
    Ties
    Equal points after the last round are split by head-to-head points first, then by points conceded, then by a single deciding point played on the nearest court.
    Rounds
    Five or six in 90 minutes
    Level band
    3.0 and up. The format only works when everyone can keep a rally going.
  • A player lining up a backhand
    Competition · fixed pairs

    Paduno League

    A season of scheduled fixtures for a fixed doubles pair. You enter with a partner, you are placed in a division with pairs of a similar standard, and you play each of them.

    Full format rules
    On court
    4 players, 2 a side. One fixture is one match between two pairs.
    Partners
    Fixed for the season, with a substitute policy for when one of you cannot make a fixture. The substitute rules are here.
    Match format
    Best of three sets. The third set is a championship tie-break to 10 points, win by two. Deciding point at 40–40 in every game.
    League points
    3 for a win, 1 for losing in a deciding third set, 0 for any other loss. A walkover is recorded 2–0 in sets to the pair that turned up.
    Season
    Fixtures over a published block of weeks, then promotion and relegation
    Entry
    Per pair, for the season
  • A player reaching for a shot on an indoor court
    Competition · tournament

    Paduno Open

    A one-day tournament for doubles pairs, split into level bands so that every entry plays people near their standard. Each band has its own draw and its own winners.

    Full format rules
    On court
    4 players, 2 a side
    Draw
    Groups of four pairs, round robin, then the top two from each group into a knockout. Every entry is guaranteed at least three matches.
    Group matches
    One set to 6 games, tie-break to 7 at 6–6, deciding point at 40–40
    Knockout matches
    Best of three sets with a championship tie-break to 10 as the third set
    Advancing
    Group position is decided by matches won, then sets, then games, then head-to-head. The full order is printed on the draw sheet on the day.
    Length
    About four hours
    Entry
    Per pair

What we will not claim

Padel marketing is full of promises that only hold in particular formats. These are the ones we have deliberately removed from this site.

  • "Every game is perfectly matched."Your Level is a best guess until you've played five games. Your captain re-seeds after round one, and we measure how many rounds finish close. That is a number we report, not a promise. What we do promise is four on your court, at your Level band, or your money back.
  • "Partners rotate every fifteen minutes."True of an Americano or a Mexicano. Not true of Social Doubles, a League fixture or an Open, where the partner is fixed on purpose.
  • "Same scoring in every format."It is not. A round to 16 points with rally scoring and a set to 6 games with a deciding point are different games. Each listing says which it is.
  • "Bring as many friends as you like."A padel court holds four players. We will happily put a group of eight across two courts, but not eight on one.

Find the one that suits you.

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