Contents
- How many players and courts you need
- Points per game, and how long it takes
- Scoring and serving
- A schedule for eight players on two courts
- Sitting out
- A mexicano instead
- The evening, start to finish
- What to tell the players before the first round
- Problems you will meet
- Running it every week
- Questions organisers ask
An americano is the social evening padel was made for. Everyone enters on their own, partners change every round, and nobody is knocked out. Beginners and strong players mix without anyone being stuck with the same partner all night, and the table at the end gives the evening a winner.
It is simple to play and fiddly to organise: the schedule, the points, the sitting out and the scores all need working out before the first serve. This post does that work for you.
How many players and courts you need
Four players to a court, every round. The cleanest evenings use a multiple of four, so nobody sits out:
| Courts | Players | Rounds for everyone to partner everyone | Sitting out each round |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 3 | none |
| 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | 8 | 7 | none |
| 2 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| 3 | 12 | 11 | none |
| 4 | 16 | 15 | none |
Eight players on two courts is the classic americano: seven rounds, everyone partners everyone once, plays against everyone twice, and fits in about two hours. With twelve or sixteen you will not get through every round in an evening, and you do not need to. Play as many rounds as the time allows.
For numbers that do not divide, such as six, seven, ten or eleven, more people sit out each round and the partnerships cannot all come up once. Tennis round robin formats for 4 to 16 players covers which numbers come out even, and the arithmetic is the same on a padel court.
Points per game, and how long it takes
An americano game is played to a fixed number of points, not games and sets. Allow roughly half a minute a point, including the time between points:
| Points a game | Roughly | Seven rounds, with two minutes between |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 8 minutes | about an hour and ten minutes |
| 21 | 11 minutes | about an hour and a half |
| 24 | 12 minutes | about an hour and three quarters |
| 32 | 16 minutes | about two hours and ten minutes |
Twenty-four points suits most evenings. Sixteen suits a short session or a big group on few courts. Thirty-two gives strong players proper games, but needs the courts for longer.
If your players are slow between points, or your courts are booked to the minute, play to a time instead. Twelve minutes on a phone alarm, then everybody stops and counts. It keeps every court on the same clock, which matters more than the exact number of points.
Scoring and serving
- Every rally is a point. There is no deuce and no advantage. Whoever wins the rally scores, whoever served.
- Each player keeps the points their side won. A game that ends 15 to 9 gives both winners 15 and both losers 9.
- A game can end level. At 24 points, 12 to 12 is a real result, and both sides keep their twelve.
- Everyone serves the same number of times. With 24 points, that is six serves each. Most clubs serve in turns of two to four points, going round the four players in order. Agree the turn size in the briefing.
The winner of the evening is whoever has the most points at the end. Points rather than wins is what makes it social: a close loss still earns almost as much as a win.
A schedule for eight players on two courts
Give everyone a number from 1 to 8 and read off the court. Over seven rounds, everyone partners every other player once, plays against each of them twice, and nobody sits out.
| Round | Court 1 | Court 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 and 2 v 3 and 4 | 5 and 6 v 7 and 8 |
| 2 | 1 and 3 v 5 and 7 | 2 and 4 v 6 and 8 |
| 3 | 1 and 4 v 5 and 8 | 2 and 3 v 6 and 7 |
| 4 | 1 and 5 v 2 and 6 | 3 and 7 v 4 and 8 |
| 5 | 1 and 6 v 3 and 8 | 2 and 5 v 4 and 7 |
| 6 | 1 and 7 v 4 and 6 | 2 and 8 v 3 and 5 |
| 7 | 1 and 8 v 2 and 7 | 3 and 6 v 4 and 5 |
Print it large and tape it to the fence between the courts, or post it in the group chat. Keep a score sheet beside it with one row per player and one column per round. For any other number of players, the free americano and mexicano generator deals the evening and keeps the table.
Sitting out
With nine players on two courts, one sits out each round and everyone sits out once over nine rounds. The player sitting out scores nothing that round. Because everyone sits out once, it evens out by the end.
If the sitting out is not even, because somebody arrived late or left early, rank the table on average points per game played, not total points. Say this in the briefing, before anybody can work out who it helps.
A mexicano instead
A mexicano starts the same way and changes after the first round. Instead of a fixed schedule, each round is dealt off the table as it stands:
- Court 1: the players in 1st and 3rd place against 2nd and 4th.
- Court 2: 5th and 7th against 6th and 8th.
- And so on down the courts.
Players of a similar score end up together, and the games get closer as the night goes on. It suits a group with a wide range of standards, because by round three nobody is being beaten 24 to 3. The catch is that each round waits until the last court has finished and the table is updated. Somebody has to keep the scores as they come in. How to run a mexicano night covers it in full, with a worked example.
The table
| # | Player | Rounds | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B. Kowal | 4 | 52 |
| 2 | F. Ashdown | 4 | 49 |
| 3 | S. Yeung | 4 | 48 |
| 4 | E. Mahler | 4 | 47 |
The evening, start to finish
A week before: book the courts for the whole evening, with ten minutes spare at each end. Ask people to say if they are coming, and get a number you can work with.
On the night, before the first round: count who is there, give everyone a number, and pick the schedule. Read the briefing below aloud. Put new balls on each court.
During: start every round together, on a whistle or an alarm, and collect the scores as each court finishes. If a court finishes early, that is fine; the next round still starts on the clock.
At the end: read out the top three and post the whole table in the group chat. Many clubs finish with a final: the top four play one last game, first and third against second and fourth, and whoever wins it wins the night.
What to tell the players before the first round
Read this out, or post it in the group chat before the evening:
Tonight’s americano
- [Eight] players, [two] courts, [seven] rounds. You have a number: find it on the schedule on the fence.
- Every game is [24] points, or [twelve] minutes on the whistle, whichever comes first.
- Every rally is a point. No deuce.
- Serve in turns of [four] points, going round the four of you. Everyone serves the same number.
- You keep the points your side wins. A game can end level.
- When the whistle goes, stop, tell [name] the score, and go straight to your next court.
- If you have to leave early, tell [name] before your last round.
- The most points at the end wins. [The top four play a final.]
Problems you will meet
Somebody arrives late. With a fixed schedule they cannot join mid-way without breaking it. Either let them take the place of somebody sitting out, or start them at the next round and rank everyone on average points.
Somebody leaves early or gets injured. The rest of their schedule has a gap. Bring in whoever is sitting out, or play that court as a three with a rotating server. Rank on averages from that point.
The scores do not add up. Ask each court to give the scorer both sides’ scores, and check that they add up to the points played.
One court is always last. Play to time, not to points, and every court finishes together.
Points rather than wins is what makes it social: a close loss still earns almost as much as a win.
Running it every week
A printed schedule works once. Every week, with a different number of players, the schedule is the part that eats the organiser’s evening. A social night in Clayside deals each round for whoever has turned up, as an americano, a mexicano or fixed pairs. It spreads the sitting out round the room and keeps the table as the scores go in.
Questions organisers ask
How many players do you need for an americano?
Four per court, so eight on two courts or twelve on three. One more than a multiple of four also works, with one player sitting out each round. Other numbers work too, with more sitting out.
How many points is an americano game?
Clubs usually play 16, 21, 24 or 32 points a game. Twenty-four is the common choice for an evening, at roughly twelve minutes a game.
How long does an americano take?
Eight players on two courts play seven rounds. At 24 points a game, with two minutes between rounds, that is about an hour and three quarters.
What is the difference between an americano and a mexicano?
In an americano the partners are set in advance so everyone partners everyone. In a mexicano each round is dealt off the table, so players of a similar score play together and the games get closer as the night goes on.
What happens to the player sitting out?
They score nothing that round. If everyone sits out the same number of times, that evens out. If not, rank players on their average points per game instead of their total.
Filed under Courts and coaching · Padel