Ask somebody close by
The ladder shows who you can play. Offer two or three evenings, the other player picks one, and each of you can add it to your calendar in a tap.
Tennis ladder
A tennis ladder for the weeks between your box leagues
Clayside is a tennis ladder app for clubs. Members arrange their own matches, record the score, and see a rating move, in singles or doubles, through the winter as well as the summer.
No card, no password · 14 days with everything switched on
1
E. LockhartW2
26 played
1438
2▲1
M. Varga
22 played
1407+16 to confirm
3▼1
C. Adebayo
19 played
1386
4▲3
H. Quigley
17 played
1340
5▼1
S. Mistry
21 played
1319
6
T. Rowntreeresting −15
12 played
1297
7▼2
J. Fairclough
14 played
1266
8new
O. Brennan
2 played
1231
Movement is places over 30 days · form is the last five · the trend line is their rating over time · purple is a score waiting on the other player, and it counts already.
How it works
From a free evening to a tennis ladder result
Play, then record it
Two sets and a championship tiebreak, Fast4, a pro set: the ladder takes the formats your club already plays, and each match remembers its own.
The rating settles it
A win against somebody stronger moves you further than a win against somebody weaker. A close match moves less than a one-sided one. Arguments about who should be above whom stop.
The rules
What the tennis ladder counts, and what it leaves alone
Two numbers are your club’s to change on each ladder: how far apart two players may be, and how long before an idle rating eases. The other two are fixed.
1200
The first rating
Everyone joins on this number and goes on the table with their first result.
3
Open matches
A player’s first three can be against anyone, and they count for more, so a new member is placed quickly.
±5
The range
After that, a match counts between players this many places apart. Your club can widen it to fifteen or switch it off.
90
Before a rest
After this many days without a match, a rating slips a little each month until the next match. It never drops below the start.
A tennis ladder here is rated rather than positional. Beating the player above you does not mean taking their place, and a declined match costs nobody anything.
Singles and doubles
One tennis ladder or several
A paid plan runs up to 8: a singles ladder, a doubles one, a winter one, a section’s own.
Fixed pairs
A pair holds one place
Partners enter together and share one rating. Either of them can record a match, and either opponent can confirm it.
Rotating doubles
Your rating, whoever you play with
Each player keeps their own. A side plays at the average of its two, so winning with a weaker partner moves you more.
Questions
What tennis clubs ask about the ladder
Do you have a free tennis ladder template?
Yes. It is a spreadsheet that moves the ladder for you: pick who challenged whom and who won, and it reorders itself. The free ladder spreadsheet.
We use Sportch now. How hard is it to move?
Not hard. Make the ladder, let it fill itself from your box players or invite the club, and run the two side by side until the end of the month if you like. The ladder sits on the same member list as your leagues, courts and subs, and we help you set it up.
Does it feed the World Tennis Number?
Not yet. The ladder rating is the club’s own and stays inside the club. If your members want their ladder results counted nationally, tell us and we will build it.
Can our juniors have their own ladder?
Yes. Make a second ladder, turn off joining, and add the juniors yourself. A junior is a name on the table, like any other player.
What happens to the ladder over the winter?
It carries on. A member who stops for the winter rests, and their rating eases a little each month until they play again. You can also start the ladder again each season if your club prefers.
Who keeps it going?
Nobody, once it is made. Players ask, play and record, and the table is right the moment a score goes in.
Have a look
Start a tennis ladder this week
Members arrange their own matches. You do not have to chase a single score.
Everything a tennis club runs: Tennis clubs on Clayside · What it costs