How to use it
- Type the player names, one per line (4 to 32). Set the number of courts, rounds and points per match (16, 21, 24 or 32 are common; any whole number works).
- Press “Generate draw”. Every round lists the court, the two pairs and who is resting. “New draw” reshuffles; the link in “Copy link” always reproduces the same draw.
- Print the draw for the courts, or share the link with the players.
- After each match enter both teams’ points next to the court. The standings table updates immediately.
- Save the tournament on this device, or export it as a file to continue later or on another device (Import a tournament file).
Example
8 players on 2 courts for 7 rounds: everyone plays every round and each player partners each of the other seven exactly once – 0 repeated partnerships. 10 players on 2 courts for 10 rounds: 2 players rest each round, 20 rests in total, so every player rests exactly twice. In a 16-point match that ends 10:6, each winner collects 10 points and each loser 6; after three such rounds a player on 28 points ranks above one on 27 regardless of wins.
How the draw is built
Each round is built in two steps. First the players who sit out are chosen: those with the fewest rests so far, and among them the one who rested longest ago. Then the remaining players are split into courts of four and paired; the generator scores every candidate arrangement by the partnerships that would repeat (weighted ten times more than repeated opponents, and squared so a third meeting costs more than a second), tries 160 random arrangements per round and keeps the cheapest, and repeats the whole schedule from ten random starting points. The result is a very good draw, not a mathematically perfect one: for some combinations a perfect “everyone partners everyone once” schedule exists in theory and the generator may miss it by one or two repeats. The random seed is part of the share link, so the same link always produces the same draw.
Scores are not forced to add up to the points per match, so matches cut short or played to a different number can still be recorded. A saved tournament is a JSON copy of the names, format, seed and scores in this browser’s localStorage; the export file has the same content and can be imported here on any device. The tool is for Americano; Mexicano (pairings by current ranking) is not included.
Questions
- How many rounds should an Americano have?
- A common evening is 7 rounds of 16 or 21 points with 8 players on 2 courts, which lets everyone partner everyone once. With more players than courts × 4, add rounds so that rests even out – the draw shows how many rests each player gets.
- What happens when two players have the same points?
- The higher point difference (points scored minus points conceded) ranks first; if that is equal too, more wins; if still equal, alphabetical order. The rule is printed under the standings.
- Can I change the players after the draw?
- Edit the list and press "New draw" – this creates a fresh schedule and clears the scores, because the matches change. To keep scores, finish the current draw and start a second tournament.
- Can several phones enter scores at the same time?
- No. The tournament lives in one browser; export the file and import it elsewhere if you need to move it. There is no account or live sync.