What is a padel Americano?
A padel Americano is a relaxed tournament for a group of friends. You play a short match with a new partner every round, and you keep the points your side wins. After the last round, whoever has the most points wins. Nobody is knocked out, and everyone plays all evening.
An 8-player Americano on two courts: Priya has a different partner in each of the 7 rounds, so by the end she has partnered everyone once.
- Round 1: Priya partners Lena against Sofia and Aisha on court 1.
- Round 2: Priya partners Arjun against Marco and Lena on court 2.
- Round 3: Priya partners Aisha against Arjun and Tom on court 1.
- Round 4: Priya partners Marco against Diego and Aisha on court 1.
- Round 5: Priya partners Diego against Tom and Lena on court 1.
- Round 6: Priya partners Tom against Sofia and Marco on court 1.
- Round 7: Priya partners Sofia against Diego and Arjun on court 2.
Watch it as a video
What happens in an Americano?
Picture eight friends and two courts on a Saturday evening.
- The organiser reads out round 1: who plays with whom, and on which court.
- Each court plays one short match, about a quarter of an hour, and the score is written down.
- Everyone swaps partners for round 2 and goes to their new court.
- After the last round the points are added up and the winner is announced.
How do you win?
You collect points for yourself, not for a team. After every match you add your side's score to your own total, win or lose.
The highest total at the end wins. Because everyone partners everyone, a strong partner in one round is balanced out by the others.
What does a round look like?
Here is round 1 of an 8-player Americano on two courts, with P1 to P8 standing for the players.
The 8-player schedule shows all seven rounds, in which everyone partners every other player once.
How long does one take?
About 16 minutes a round when matches go to 24 points, including the walk to the next court.
| Rounds | Time at 24 points |
|---|---|
| 5 | about 1 hour 20 minutes |
| 7 | about 1 hour 50 minutes |
| 8 | about 2 hours 7 minutes |
To save time, play to 16 points: a round then takes about 11 minutes.
What do I need to start?
- Four or more players, and one court for every four you want playing at once. Groups of 8, 12 or 16 fill 2, 3 or 4 courts exactly. Other numbers work with a few players resting each round.
- A schedule and a way to keep score: a printed sheet and a pen, or an app.
Next, see how a Mexicano differs, or jump straight to running your first Americano.
Questions people ask
Is a padel Americano good for beginners?
Yes. Matches are short, partners change every round and nobody is knocked out, so a beginner plays all evening and partners stronger players along the way.
Do you play sets and games in an Americano?
Usually not. Most Americanos count every rally as one point and play to a fixed total, such as 24. Some groups prefer short sets of games instead, which works the same way for the standings.
Who wins a padel Americano?
The single player with the most points after the last round. Because you keep the points your side scores in every match, the winner is the person who did best across all their partners.
Can you play an Americano with an odd number of players?
Yes. The players who do not fit on a court sit out that round, and the rests go round the group in turn so nobody sits out twice in a row while the numbers allow it.