How to run a mexicano night

A mexicano is what an americano becomes when the group wants proper games. Everybody still enters on their own, partners still change every round, and the night still ends with one table. The difference is how the rounds are dealt. In an americano the whole evening is dealt before the first ball. In a mexicano only the first round is, and every round after it is dealt off the table as it stands.

The effect is that players on similar scores end up on the same court. By round three nobody is losing 24 to 3, and the games get closer as the night goes on.

If you have not run an americano before, start with how to run an americano at your padel club. It covers the players and courts you need, the points per game, serving and how long it takes. All of it applies to a mexicano too.

How a mexicano works#

1. Round one is dealt like an americano. Any fair first round will do: by lot, or the first round of an americano schedule.
2. After each round, rank everybody by points. Each player keeps the points their side won, exactly as in an americano.
3. The top four play on court one, the next four on court two, and so on down the courts.
4. On each court, first and third play second and fourth. It puts the two nearest players on opposite sides of the net, and gives the leader the weaker partner.
5. Repeat until the time is up. Whoever has the most points wins the night.

A worked example#

Eight players on two courts, 24 points a game. Round one is the americano’s first round:

Court	Round one	Score
1	Priya and Sam v Jo and Alex	15 to 9
2	Tom and Ruth v Dev and Kate	13 to 11

After round one the table reads: Priya 15, Sam 15, Tom 13, Ruth 13, Dev 11, Kate 11, Jo 9, Alex 9. Players level on points stay in the order they were entered.

Round two is dealt off that table:

Court	Who is on it	The game
1	Priya, Sam, Tom and Ruth (1st to 4th)	Priya and Tom v Sam and Ruth
2	Dev, Kate, Jo and Alex (5th to 8th)	Dev and Jo v Kate and Alex

On court one, Priya (first) partners Tom (third) against Sam (second) and Ruth (fourth). The two leaders, level on fifteen, are on opposite sides of the net.

Mexicano or americano#

	Americano	Mexicano
How rounds are dealt	All in advance	Off the table, after each round
Who you play with	Everybody, once each	Players near you on the table
The games	Some one-sided, especially early	Closer as the night goes on
Organising	Print the schedule and go	Update the table after every round
Late arrivals	Hard to fit in	Easy: they join the next round
Suits	A mixed social night, beginners welcome	A keener group, or a wide spread of standards

Many clubs run both: an americano when the room is mixed and people want to meet each other, and a mexicano when the same regulars want competitive games.

Who sits out when the numbers do not divide#

With nine players on two courts, one sits out each round. In a mexicano it should be the players who have played the most rounds, not the bottom of the table. Sitting the bottom players would sit the same people all night, which is the opposite of why a club runs a social evening.

Everybody else is banded by points as usual. If somebody came late or left early, the sitting out ends uneven. Then rank the final table on average points per game played, not the total. Say so before the first round.

Keeping the table between rounds#

A mexicano lives or dies on the table. Every round needs it, so the round cannot be dealt until every court has finished and every score is in. Three habits keep the wait short:

• One scorer. Every court tells the same person both scores as soon as it finishes.
• Play to time, not points. A whistle after twelve or fifteen minutes finishes every court together, so nobody waits for the slowest game.
• Deal from the table, not from memory. A whiteboard, a printed table or the americano and mexicano generator does the ranking and the banding while the players change ends.

Ending on a final#

A mexicano ends well on a final. After the last round, the top four play one more game on court one, dealt by the same rule: first and third against second and fourth. Whoever wins it wins the night. The rest of the room can play a last round on the other courts, banded the same way.

By round three nobody is losing 24 to 3, and the games get closer as the night goes on.

What to tell the players before the first round#

Read this out, or post it in the group chat before the evening:

Running it without the arithmetic#

The arithmetic between rounds is what makes organisers stick to americanos. The free americano and mexicano generator takes the names and the courts, deals the first round, and deals each round after it from the scores you type in. A social night in Clayside does the same every week, with the players putting their own scores in from the court.