Pickleball round robin formats explained

In a rotating partner round robin, you get a new partner each round. Over the night you play with and against most of the other players. Nobody needs to arrive with a partner.

In a fixed team round robin, two players stay together all night and every team plays every other team. This works well when people sign up as pairs.

Rotating partners is the format we see most for casual groups, since it is social and no one gets stuck with a weaker or stronger partner all night. Round Robin Pickleball runs rotating partners.

A pod is one group that plays together. In a pod of 9, 8 players are on court each round and one player has a bye. The bye moves around, so everyone sits out once.

That gives 9 rounds on two courts. When the rounds finish, the standings seed the top players into semifinals and a final, and a champion is named.

Nine is a handy number because the courts stay full and the bye is fair. If you have exactly 8 players, you play 7 rounds on two courts and nobody sits out.

Ladder style, also called king of the court, moves players between courts. Winners go up a court and losers go down. Games are often timed, so every court rotates at the same moment.

Courts are ranked, so after a few rounds players tend to land near their own level. That makes it good for weekly open play and for groups with mixed skill.

The tradeoff is that it has no set schedule and no fixed end. Players may not partner with everyone, and a champion is harder to name. For a one night event with a winner, a round robin is the cleaner fit.

Start with your head count and your courts. Then pick the format that matches what your group wants from the night.

• 8 players: one group on two courts, 7 rounds, no byes.
• 9 players: one pod of 9 with a rotating bye, then semifinals and a final.
• 12 or 16 players: ladder style also works well, since the courts fill up evenly. Check your count with the court calculator.
• 18 players: two pods of 9 on four courts, each with its own standings.
• 21 players: our tool handles up to 21, so you can still run it as one event.

Here is how you set up a rotating partner round robin with us. The whole thing runs from your phone, and a co-host can sign in to help.

1. Open Round Robin Pickleball and start a session with Run a Round Robin.
2. Add your players by name, from 8 to 21.
3. Choose the format that fits your count, such as a pod of 9 or two pods of 9.
4. Start the event, then enter scores after each round. Standings and tiebreakers update by themselves.
5. Players can check in at the court and enter their own scores in the free Court Crowd app.