Games or Points: how to score padel tournaments

One of the most common choices when setting up a padel tournament: play on Games or on Points?

Both are valid, but they give a slightly different experience.

Points usually work better in fast social formats, where it matters that every rally counts towards the result.

Games are closer to classic padel and are more often used in competitive tournaments and among stronger players.

Let us look at how both work.

What Points are

In Points mode every rally played counts.

For example, a match might finish:

• 21:15
• 17:17
• 32:26

The organiser can set a specific number of points to play to, or cap the match by time.

For example:

• play to 21 points;
• play to 32 points;
• play for 15 minutes and record the score at the end.

This option works especially well in Americano, Mexicano and other formats with a large number of short rounds.

Why Points work well in social tournaments

The main advantage is that every ball matters.

Losing a match 19:21 is a very different result from losing it 5:21.

So with short matches and many different partners, the total points scored often gives a pretty good picture of how consistently someone played across the whole tournament.

That is exactly why, with Points, it makes sense to build the standings on the total points scored.

Someone may have lost several very close matches while still scoring heavily throughout. That result does not get lost.

What Games are

In Games mode the match is scored just like ordinary padel.

For example:

• 6:4
• 5:5
• 7:5

You can play a full set, a set number of games, or again cap it by time.

For example, teams play for 20 minutes and the current game score is recorded at the buzzer.

Games usually suit more experienced players, because the match itself feels closer to a normal game of padel.

Break points, serving, the ends of games and the ability to close out decisive rallies all matter.

How the standings are built

Standings with Games

If the tournament is played on games, PADO can use the classic tournament points system.

For example:

• win = 2 points
• draw = 1 point
• loss = 0 points

After each match those points are added to the overall table.

If several participants finish on the same number of tournament points, further tiebreakers are used.

PADO takes into account, among other things:

• number of wins;
• number of draws;
• the difference between games won and lost;
• head-to-head results.

If several participants are level, the system resolves the tie according to the table rules.

The organiser does not have to work out by hand who ends up second, third or fourth.

Standings with Points

For Points the most natural approach is to count the total number of points scored.

For example, across five rounds a player scored: 21 + 18 + 20 + 16 + 21 = 96 points

And that total decides their position.

For Americano this is often the fairest principle, because it reflects the result of every rally rather than just who won.

But it is not the only option.

Points can also be ranked by wins

PADO has a separate Standing by setting that determines what the tournament table is built on.

So you can play the matches themselves on Points, to 21 for example, but rank participants primarily by wins.

Then a 21:20 match and a 21:5 match give the same win in the table, even though the margins are very different.

From there, if participants are level on tournament points, the same additional criteria apply as with Games.

That approach makes sense too, if you want winning the match itself to be the main result.

But for a classic Americano we usually recommend building the table on total Points.

Create a tournament in PADO →

When to choose Points

Points are a good fit if:

• your rounds are short;
• players change partners often;
• the tournament is more social;
• participants’ levels may differ a little;
• you want every rally to count towards the overall result.

The most typical examples:

• Americano
• Mexicano
• short timed tournaments;
• tournaments for new players or mixed levels.

For example, for a 16-player Americano you can run rounds to 21 points and decide the winner on total Points after all the matches.

It is simple and easy to follow.

When to choose Games

Games are the better choice if:

• the players are already fairly experienced;
• winning the match is what matters;
• people play in fixed pairs;
• matches are longer;
• you want an experience closer to classic padel.

Typical examples:

• Winner’s Court
• pair Americano;
• tournaments with groups and playoffs;
• matches played as full or shortened sets;
• more competitive tournaments.

For example, in a group stage it makes more sense to play to one set or a set number of games and build the group table from the wins.

And what about timed play?

You can play both Points and Games against the clock.

It depends on the kind of play you want.

For example:

• 15 minutes on Points. At the buzzer the match might finish 24:19.
• 20 minutes on Games. At the buzzer the match might finish 5:3.

Points make every rally equally important.

Games keep the classic padel structure, where individual rallies add up into games.

For beginners and social tournaments, Points are often simpler.

For stronger players, Games usually feel more natural.

Points or Games: a quick comparison

In short: what to choose

If you want a simple rule:

Points work well for short, fast-moving, social tournaments.

Games suit more competitive play, fixed pairs and formats close to classic padel.

But scoring and the way the table is built are two different things.

In PADO you can, for example, play matches on Points but build the standings on wins.

That is why, when creating a tournament, it is worth thinking about two questions separately:

1. How do we play the match?
2. What should decide the winner of the whole tournament?

Once those two answers are clear, picking the right settings is straightforward.

Games or Points in PADO

When creating a tournament in PADO the organiser chooses the match scoring method and the standings principle separately.

So the same format can be adapted to different levels and styles of play: from a short Americano on Points to a full pair tournament on Games.

Create a tournament in PADO →