What is the Americano padel format?
The Americano is a social padel format for individual players. You change partner in every round, and you keep your own running point total. The player with the most points after the last round wins the Americano.
How does the Americano rotation work?
The rotation gives every player a new partner in each round. The organiser draws the full schedule before the first serve. Each round divides the group into courts of four players. Two players form a temporary pair for one match only. The next round breaks that pair and forms new pairs.
A complete Americano runs until every player has partnered every other player once. Eight players need seven rounds for a complete rotation. Twelve players need eleven rounds. Many clubs play fewer rounds, because the court booking is shorter than the full schedule. A short Americano is still a valid Americano. State the number of rounds before play starts.
How do you score an Americano?
An Americano match runs to a fixed total of points. It does not use games and sets. Every rally is worth one point, and the rally winner takes the point. The serving team gets no advantage from the serve. The match ends the moment the two scores add up to the agreed total.
Clubs use 16, 24 or 32 points for one match. A 24-point match takes about 10 minutes. A 32-point match takes about 14 minutes. After the match, both players in a pair receive the score their pair made. A match that ends 14-10 gives 14 points to each winner and 10 points to each loser. Each player carries the total into the next round.
How many players do you need for an Americano?
Four players and one court are enough. A player count that divides by four fills every court. Groups of 8, 12 and 16 players are the most common at clubs. Eight players need two courts. Sixteen players need four courts.
If the count does not divide by four, some players rest each round. A rest round is a bye. Give every player the same number of byes. Do not credit a bye with the full target score, because that reward is larger than a hard win. A fair method credits the player with the average of the rounds that player completed.
What does an 8-player Americano schedule look like?
The table below shows a complete 8-player Americano on two courts. Number your players 1 to 8, then read the rows in order. Over the seven rounds, each of the 28 possible partner pairs appears exactly once. The scores are an example, and each match runs to 24 points.
| Round | Court 1 | Score | Court 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P1 + P2 v P3 + P4 | 13-11 | P5 + P6 v P7 + P8 | 10-14 |
| 2 | P1 + P5 v P2 + P6 | 15-9 | P3 + P7 v P4 + P8 | 12-12 |
| 3 | P1 + P7 v P2 + P8 | 14-10 | P3 + P5 v P4 + P6 | 11-13 |
| 4 | P1 + P3 v P5 + P7 | 16-8 | P2 + P4 v P6 + P8 | 13-11 |
| 5 | P1 + P6 v P3 + P8 | 12-12 | P2 + P5 v P4 + P7 | 10-14 |
| 6 | P1 + P8 v P4 + P5 | 14-10 | P2 + P7 v P3 + P6 | 9-15 |
| 7 | P1 + P4 v P6 + P7 | 13-11 | P2 + P3 v P5 + P8 | 12-12 |
A drawn match is allowed, because the target total can be an even number. Round 2 on court 2 ends 12-12. Each of those four players receives 12 points. A club that wants a winner in every match uses an odd target, such as 21 or 31 points.
How is the winner decided?
Add every player's points from every round. The highest total wins the Americano. The table below gives the final standings for the example schedule. Each player collected points across seven matches.
| Position | Player | Points | Matches won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P1 | 97 | 6 |
| 2 | P3 | 89 | 2 |
| 3 | P4 | 86 | 4 |
| 4 | P8 | 85 | 2 |
| 5 | P7 | 82 | 3 |
| 6 | P6 | 81 | 2 |
| 7 | P2 | 76 | 2 |
| 8 | P5 | 76 | 1 |
P2 and P5 both finish on 76 points, so the organiser needs a tie-break. This example ranks P2 above P5 on matches won. Other common tie-breaks are the result between the tied players, the point difference, and a short deciding match. Publish the tie-break before the event. Do not choose a tie-break after you see the final table.
How do you run an Americano at a club?
Confirm the player list one day before the event. Book one court for every four players. Draw the schedule and print it, then put a copy on every court. Tell the players the point target, the number of rounds and the tie-break.
Start every round at the same moment, so the courts stay together. Allow about 15 minutes for each round, which covers the match and the change of court. Collect the scores at the end of each round and update one standings sheet. One person should own that sheet. Read the top three positions to the group halfway through, because it keeps the last rounds competitive.
Where do clubs change the Americano rules?
The Americano has no single published rulebook. Clubs and tournament software differ on real points. Check these items before you play:
- The point target. 16, 24 and 32 points are all common. Some clubs use a timed round of 10 to 20 minutes instead.
- The credit for a match. The common form credits each player with the pair score. Some events add a bonus for the win.
- The serve. Many clubs give each player a fixed block of serves, then pass the serve across the net.
- The number of rounds. A full rotation for 8 players is 7 rounds. Short events stop after 4 or 5 rounds.
- Team Americano. In this variant the pairs stay fixed, and only the opponents rotate.
PadelArc runs an Americano session in the app for a saved group of 4, 8, 12 or 16 players, with a court total you set between 8 and 64 points and individual standings after each court. See what the app does.
What else do players ask about the Americano?
How many rounds does an 8-player Americano have?
A complete 8-player Americano has 7 rounds. Seven rounds let every player partner every other player exactly once. Many clubs play fewer rounds to fit the court booking.
How many points is an Americano match?
Most clubs play each Americano match to a fixed total of 16, 24 or 32 points. The match stops the moment the two scores add up to that total. A 24-point match takes about 10 minutes.
Do both players in an Americano pair get the same points?
Yes. In the common form, both players in a pair receive the score their pair made. A match that ends 14-10 gives 14 points to each winner and 10 points to each loser.
What is the difference between an Americano and a Mexicano?
An Americano uses a fixed schedule that is drawn before play starts. A Mexicano draws each new round from the current standings, so the leaders meet the leaders.
Can you play an Americano with an odd number of players?
Yes, but some players must sit out each round. Give every player the same number of rest rounds. Credit a rest round with the player average, not with the full target score.
Who serves in an Americano match?
The normal padel serving rules apply inside the match. Many clubs let each player serve a fixed block of points, then pass the serve to an opponent. The organiser must state the rule before play.