The short version
With ten players you fill two courts: eight are in play each round, and two sit out. The bench rotates fairly — the players with the fewest matches played go on court first — so across the first five rounds everyone sits out exactly once, and the gap in matches played never grows beyond one.
Every match is played to 24 points and normally takes 15–20 minutes, with both courts playing at the same time. Five rounds therefore take about 75–100 minutes — a perfect fit for a 90-minute booking — while seven rounds land at 105–140 minutes, roughly two hours. If you get through fewer rounds than planned, no harm done: rounds are generated one at a time, and the leaderboard crowns the winner wherever you stop.
The schedule
The rotation below was generated by PadelFlow's americano engine — the same engine that builds sessions in the app. A new partner from round to round, and a bench that cycles through the whole group.
| Round | Court 1 | Court 2 | Sits out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna + Bruno vs Carla + David | Emma + Felix vs Greta + Hugo | Ida, Jonas |
| 2 | Ida + Anna vs Jonas + Bruno | Carla + Emma vs David + Felix | Greta, Hugo |
| 3 | Greta + Ida vs Hugo + Anna | Jonas + Carla vs Bruno + David | Emma, Felix |
| 4 | Emma + Greta vs Ida + Jonas | Felix + Anna vs Hugo + Bruno | Carla, David |
| 5 | Carla + Felix vs Emma + Ida | David + Hugo vs Greta + Jonas | Anna, Bruno |
| 6 | Anna + David vs Felix + Hugo | Bruno + Carla vs Emma + Greta | Ida, Jonas |
| 7 | Ida + Felix vs Jonas + David | Anna + Carla vs Bruno + Emma | Greta, Hugo |
After seven rounds the ledger looks like this — the gap between whoever has played the most and the least is never more than one match:
| Players | Matches played | Rounds sat out |
|---|---|---|
| Anna, Bruno, Carla, David, Emma, Felix | 6 | 1 |
| Greta, Hugo, Ida, Jonas | 5 | 2 |
Look at rounds 1–5: the bench cycles through all ten players before anyone sits out a second time. That is no accident — the engine always sends the players with the fewest matches played on court first, and when that is level, whoever has sat out the most takes priority.
How the rotation works
Americano is all about variety, and the engine builds each round with three priorities: repeated partners are avoided first, repeated opponents second, and finally the teams are balanced by how many matches the players have behind them. With ten players that works out to 27 different partnerships across the 28 team slots in seven rounds: eight of the ten players get a new partner every single round they are in play, and only Emma and Greta end up together twice (rounds 4 and 6).
The results you enter never affect who plays with whom — the points only count on the leaderboard. That is the big difference from mexicano, where the standings decide who meets on the next round's courts.
Can the count change? With 8 or 12 players the math works out perfectly: everyone plays every round, and nobody sits out. With 10, the bench is as even as it can be either way — a gap of one match at most. The rules, point variants and a complete worked example are on the americano page, and if you would rather not run the schedule yourself, the americano generator sets up everything automatically — free, no signup, and it works offline.
FAQ
As many as you have time for — rounds are generated one at a time, not from a fixed plan. Five rounds is the natural minimum: by then the bench has cycled through the whole group, and everyone has sat out exactly once and played four matches. After seven rounds, six players have played six matches and four have played five.
Expect 15–20 minutes per round with matches played to 24 points and both courts playing at the same time. Five rounds therefore take 75–100 minutes and seven rounds 105–140 minutes — so five rounds fit a 90-minute booking, and seven fit two hours of court time.
Yes, as fair as ten players allows. The bench rotates automatically: the players with the fewest matches played go on court first, and if that is level, whoever has sat out the most takes priority. Nobody sits out twice before everyone has sat out once, and the gap in matches played never exceeds one.
Yes. PadelFlow handles 4–32 players on 1–8 courts. With 8 or 12 players the numbers work out perfectly — everyone plays every round with no bench — while 9 or 11 means a little more sitting than 10. See the schedules for 6, 8, 9, 12 and 16 players, or enter your own count in the generator.
Two courts is clearly best: eight in play and only two on the bench each round. With one court only four play at a time while six wait — it works, but that is a lot of waiting. A third court does not help until you are at least twelve, since every court needs four players.
Ready?
Open the generator right in the browser — free, no signup, and the next round takes care of itself. Prefer an app? PadelFlow is on the App Store.
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