Padel americano draws by number of players

The sizes that cause trouble, and how to fix them

An americano with 8 players

The perfect size and the most searched for: two courts, seven rounds, and every player partners each of the other seven exactly once. It is the only americano that is mathematically round. Seven 15-minute rounds is a little over two hours; if you are short of time, cut it to five rounds and you have exactly 90 minutes.

An americano with 12 players

Three courts and no complications. The usual mistake is trying to squeeze it onto two courts: then four players sit out every round and the event drags for them. With 12 players and 2 courts, run two groups of 6 in parallel and merge the standings at the end.

An americano with 16 players

Four courts. It is the most common size at a medium-sized club and the one that goes worst by hand: with 16 players there are 120 possible pairs and you need a calculated draw. This is where almost every organiser ends up with an inherited spreadsheet. Across six rounds each player partners six different people out of the fifteen possible, which is more than enough for one evening.

Odd numbers (5, 7, 9…)

Someone will always be sitting out. What matters is that the bye rotates fairly and that whoever is sitting out knows before they arrive, not when they get there. A draw that shares byes badly is the number one reason someone does not come back the following week.