Winners Court

The idea

Courts are ranked. Court 1 is the top court, court 2 is below it, and so on. The better you played in the last round, the higher the court you are put on for the next one. So the session naturally sorts itself: after a couple of rounds you are playing against people who are playing about as well as you are today.

Nobody keeps a permanent rating and nobody is seeded at the start. Round 1 is completely random. From round 2 onwards, the only thing that decides where you are placed is what just happened on court.

How a round works

Everyone is split into groups of four, one group per court, and each group plays a normal set. If there are not enough people for a full four on every court, the extras rest that round — the app picks whoever has rested least, so the resting turns go round evenly.

When a set finishes, you tap the pair that won and then tap the score. That is it. When every court has a result, you tap Next round and the app builds the new pairings.

How the next round is built

The app puts everybody into one single ranked line, then cuts that line into fours: the top four go to court 1, the next four to court 2, and so on.

The order of that line is: everyone who won, best margin first — so a 6–0 winner is placed above a 7–6 winner. Then everyone who rested. Then everyone who lost, again best margin first — so someone who lost 6–7 is placed above someone who lost 0–6, because they were closer to winning.

Because it is one line and not a court-by-court promotion, you can move more than one court in a single round. Win big on court 3 while the winners on court 1 scraped through, and you can find yourself on court 1 next round.

Inside each group of four, the app then decides who partners whom. It deliberately avoids giving you the same partner two rounds in a row, and tries not to repeat partnerships you have already had. So your court is decided by results, but your partner is decided by variety.

How you win

The standings are ranked by matches won. If two players are level on wins, the tiebreak is win percentage, then games difference (games you won minus games you lost), then name.

Note that reaching court 1 is not itself worth anything — it is a sign you are playing well, not a prize. The only thing that counts is how many sets you won.

A worked example

Eight players, two courts. Ana, Ben, Carl, Dana, Eve, Finn, Gus and Hana.

1. Round 1 is random. Court 1: Ana & Ben vs Carl & Dana. Court 2: Eve & Finn vs Gus & Hana.
2. Ana & Ben win 6–2 — a margin of four games. Gus & Hana win 7–6 — a margin of one.
3. The app builds the line. Winners first, biggest margin first: Ana, Ben, then Gus, Hana. Then the losers, smallest defeat first: Eve, Finn (they lost 6–7), then Carl, Dana (they lost 2–6).
4. Cut into fours: Ana, Ben, Gus, Hana go to court 1. Eve, Finn, Carl, Dana go to court 2.
5. Ana and Ben just partnered each other, so they get split up. Court 1 becomes Ana & Gus vs Ben & Hana.
6. Everyone plays another set, and the same thing happens again.

Good to know

• It is not a ladder where the winners move up exactly one court and the losers move down one. The whole field is re-ranked from scratch every round, so jumps of two or three courts are normal and intended.
• A narrow defeat is better than a heavy one. Losing 6–7 places you above someone who lost 0–6, so there is always something to play for even when the set is gone.
• If you rest a round, you come back in between all the winners and all the losers — regardless of how well you were doing before. Resting does not protect your position on the courts, though it does not cost you a win in the standings either.
• You cannot record a timed or unfinished set. The score has to be one of the seven listed above, so agree with your group to play sets out.
• There are no draws — every set has a winner.