In short
With nine players you run americano on two courts: eight are in play each round and one sits out. The bench rotates automatically — whoever has played the least goes on court first — so after seven rounds, seven of the nine have sat out exactly once and nobody is more than one match apart. No spreadsheet or paper slips required to keep it straight.
Timing is easy to plan: a round to 24 points typically takes 15–20 minutes with both courts playing at the same time. Five rounds come to roughly 75–100 minutes, and the full seven-round schedule to 105–140 minutes. Book two hours and you will fit it all in with short breaks between rounds.
The schedule
The table below is not a worked example on paper — it was generated by the same americano engine that builds sessions in PadelFlow, with nine players on two courts over seven rounds. The right-hand column shows who sits out.
| Round | Court 1 | Court 2 | Sits out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna + Bruno vs Carla + David | Emma + Felix vs Greta + Hugo | Ida |
| 2 | Ida + Anna vs Bruno + Emma | Carla + Felix vs David + Greta | Hugo |
| 3 | Hugo + Felix vs Ida + Bruno | Anna + Carla vs David + Emma | Greta |
| 4 | Greta + Anna vs Hugo + Ida | Bruno + David vs Carla + Emma | Felix |
| 5 | Felix + Greta vs Anna + David | Hugo + Bruno vs Ida + Carla | Emma |
| 6 | Emma + Anna vs Felix + Bruno | Greta + Ida vs Hugo + Carla | David |
| 7 | David + Felix vs Emma + Hugo | Greta + Bruno vs Ida + Anna | Carla |
After seven rounds, seven different players have sat out exactly once. Only Anna and Bruno have played every round — the gap is a single match, and they are first in line for the bench if you play one more.
| Player | Matches played | Rounds sat out |
|---|---|---|
| Anna | 7 | 0 |
| Bruno | 7 | 0 |
| Carla | 6 | 1 |
| David | 6 | 1 |
| Emma | 6 | 1 |
| Felix | 6 | 1 |
| Greta | 6 | 1 |
| Hugo | 6 | 1 |
| Ida | 6 | 1 |
The rules, point variants and a fully played-through example are on the americano page.
The engine
Round 1 is a straight draw: there is no history to build on yet, so the app spreads the nine across two courts and one bench spot with nothing else to weigh. From round 2 the variation engine takes over, and it weighs things in this order: repeated partners are avoided first and count by far the most, repeated opponents come second, and finally the teams are balanced by play time. With nine players across seven rounds one repeat is close to unavoidable — in the schedule above it happens exactly once, when Anna and Ida partner up again in the last round.
Who sits out is decided by the stats, not by a fixed list: the players with the fewest matches played go on court first, and if that is level, whoever has sat out the most takes priority. With nine players that means a new player on the bench every round until everyone has sat once. And note: the results only count in the leaderboard. The rotation never cares who wins — that is the big difference from mexicano, where the standings decide the courts.
If you are actually 8 or 12, the puzzle resolves perfectly — everyone plays every round with no bench. And you don't need to copy the table above: open the americano generator, enter the nine names, and the app builds the rounds as you go. It also handles someone arriving late or leaving early — the next round is always based on what has actually been played.
Open the format picker — hit “Generate your own schedule” and you land straight in the web app, no signup.
Pick Americano — the format where everyone plays the same amount and the score never affects the draw.
Enter the nine names and pick two courts — the bench is set up automatically.
Play — the first round appears immediately, and the next is generated once the scores are in.
FAQ
As many as you like — rounds are generated one at a time, so you stop when the court time is up. Seven rounds is a natural target: by then seven of the nine have sat out exactly once and nobody is more than one match apart. If you keep playing, the rotation simply continues.
Expect 15–20 minutes per round when you play to 24 points with both courts running at the same time. Five rounds come to roughly 75–100 minutes, and the full seven-round schedule to 105–140 minutes — about two hours with short breaks.
Yes. The bench is handled 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 supports 4–32 players on 1–8 courts. With 8 or 12 players the math works out perfectly and nobody sits out. We have matching schedules for 6, 8, 10, 12 and 16 players — use the picker at the top of the page to find your count.
No. In americano the points only feed the leaderboard — the rotation is driven by matches played, sit-outs and who you have already partnered. If you would rather have the standings decide the courts, mexicano is your format.
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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