Add the players
Type the names, or pick them from the players you used last time. Any number works, and the app tells you how many courts and rounds you will need.
AMERICANO
Padel Americano,
organised in 30 seconds
Type in the names, pick Americano, Mexicano or King of the Court, and the app builds every round for you. Live scoring, automatic standings, no spreadsheet, no arguing about who plays with whom. Free, and it works with no signal at the club.
- Americano · Mexicano · King of the Court
- Automatic pairings
- Live standings
- Works offline
HOW IT WORKS
Names in,
tournament out
The whole setup happens before the first players have finished stretching.
Pick the format
Americano rotates everyone through everyone. Mexicano pairs by current standings so the top players meet each other. King of the Court moves winners up a court and losers down.
Play and enter scores
Each round appears with the pairings and the courts. Enter the score at the end of the round and the standings update instantly. No signal needed.
THE THREE FORMATS
Americano, Mexicano
or King of the Court?
All three are in the app. They suit very different groups, so this is the honest comparison.
| Format | How pairings work | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americano | Everyone plays with everyone and against everyone, in a fixed rotation set at the start. | Mixed-ability social groups, club nights, and anyone who wants to actually meet the other players. | A strong player paired with a beginner can win a round on their own, so scores partly reflect luck of the draw. |
| Mexicano | The first round is random, then every later round pairs players by their position in the standings. | Competitive groups of similar level who want the last round to be the real final. | Beginners can end up stuck at the bottom playing each other all night. Less social mixing. |
| King of the Court | Winners move up a court, losers move down. Court 1 is the throne. | Large groups on several courts, and drop-in sessions where players arrive and leave. | You need at least two courts, and it works best with fixed short rounds on a timer. |
THE RULES
Padel Americano rules
and scoring, explained
An Americano is not a knockout tournament. There are no fixed pairs and there are no sets. Every player is scored individually, and the winner is the player with the most points at the end of the night.
The core rule: you keep your own points
You play each round with a different partner. Whatever your pair scores in that round is added to your personal total. Your partner gets the same number. This is why an Americano rewards playing well with everyone, not being lucky with one partner.
Scoring: play to a number, not to sets
Each round is played to a fixed points target rather than to games or sets. The common targets are:
- 16 points for short rounds, which suits a long evening with many players.
- 24 points for the standard club Americano. This is the most used number.
- 32 points for fewer, longer rounds with a small group.
The round ends the moment the target is reached, and the two scores always add up to that target. A 24-point round can finish 24 to 0 or 13 to 11. Some clubs run rounds on a timer instead, typically 12 or 15 minutes, and the score is wherever it stands when the buzzer goes.
Serving and point rules
Points are played with normal padel rules: underhand serve below the waist, the ball must bounce before the walls, and every point counts as one, so there is no 15, 30, 40. Serve rotates every four points in most clubs, and the serve stays with the same player for the whole of those four points.
How many rounds and courts do I need?
A full Americano where everyone partners everyone needs a fixed number of rounds. The app calculates this for you, but the common cases are worth knowing:
| Players | Courts | Rounds for a full rotation | Rough duration at 24 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 3 rounds | About 1 hour |
| 8 | 2 | 7 rounds | About 2 hours |
| 12 | 3 | 11 rounds | About 3 hours |
| 16 | 4 | 15 rounds | About 4 hours, usually cut short |
What to do about odd numbers
Americano works cleanly with player counts divisible by four. If you have an odd number, you have three options, and the app handles all of them:
- Sit-out rotation. Players take turns resting a round. Fairest option, and the app tracks who has already sat out.
- Average the missing round. A resting player is credited with their running average, so nobody is punished for sitting out.
- Add a ringer. A coach or a club member fills the gap without appearing in the standings.
Tie-breaks
Two players on the same total is common. The standard order is: total points scored, then points conceded, then the head-to-head result if they ever played against each other. The app applies this automatically, so the final standings are settled before anyone reaches the bar.
WHY USE THE APP
Because the spreadsheet
always breaks
It works with no signal
Most padel clubs have terrible reception. Tournaments run entirely on the device, so a dead bar of signal cannot stop the night.
Nobody has to do the maths
Pairings, courts, standings and tie-breaks are all calculated. You enter two numbers per round and that is the whole job.
The standings are on the big screen
The current table is one tap away, so players can see where they stand between rounds instead of asking the organiser.
It is free
The tournament organiser is not behind the subscription. Run as many Americanos as you like.
SHARE AND EXPORT
Everyone follows
on their own phone
Added in Padel AI 2.2, so the organiser stops being the standings screen.
One live link for the whole group
Publish the tournament and you get a short link at padelaiapp.com/t/ plus a code. Send it to the group chat and every player watches the standings and the rounds update on their own phone, with no app to install.
You choose what the link shows
Full names or first name and an initial. The privacy choice is applied on your phone before anything is uploaded, so the shortened names are all the page ever receives.
Stop sharing whenever you want
Turn the link off and the page goes with it. A tournament that stops being updated also stops showing as live on its own.
Export as PDF, Excel or CSV
Finish the night and take the results with you: a PDF for the club noticeboard, or Excel and CSV if you keep a league table across the season.
FAQ
Questions about
padel Americano
What is a padel Americano?
An Americano is a social padel format where partners rotate every round so that everyone plays with and against everyone else. There are no fixed pairs and no sets. Each round is played to a fixed number of points, usually 24, and every player keeps their own running total. The player with the most points at the end wins individually.
What is the difference between Americano and Mexicano?
In an Americano the whole rotation is decided at the start, so you play with every other player in turn regardless of how you are performing. In a Mexicano only the first round is random. After that, players are paired by their position in the standings, so the leaders play each other and the last round becomes a real final. Americano is more social, Mexicano is more competitive.
How many points is a padel Americano round?
Most clubs play rounds to 24 points. Shorter evenings with many players often use 16, and small groups sometimes use 32. The two scores always add up to the target, so a 24-point round can end 24 to 0 or 13 to 11. Timed rounds of 12 or 15 minutes are the other common option.
How many players do you need for an Americano?
Four players on one court is the minimum, which gives three rounds. It scales in fours from there: eight players on two courts gives seven rounds, twelve players on three courts gives eleven. If your number is not divisible by four, the app runs a fair sit-out rotation.
Is the padel Americano generator free?
Yes. Creating tournaments, generating the rounds, entering scores and viewing standings are all free in the Padel AI app on iPhone and Android, with no limit on how many you run.
Does it work without an internet connection?
Yes. Tournaments run entirely on the device, which matters because most padel clubs have poor reception. You can create a tournament, play every round and finish the standings with the phone in airplane mode.
MORE IN THE APP
Everything else Padel AI does
Your next Americano
runs itself
Names in, rounds out, standings live. Free in the Padel AI app.