Americano Schedules for 8, 12 and 16 Players
Here is a checked 8-player Americano schedule you can use tonight, plus how many rounds and courts you need for 12 and 16 players.
The short answer
An Americano schedule for 8 players uses 2 courts and 7 rounds, and everyone partners every other player exactly once. With 12 players you need 3 courts and 11 rounds for a full rotation, and with 16 players you need 4 courts and 15 rounds. Most social events stop well before a full rotation, which is fine.
What is the Americano schedule for 8 players?
Number your players 1 to 8. Then play these rounds in order. Two courts run at the same time.
| Round | Court 1 | Court 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 & 2 v 6 & 8 | 3 & 4 v 5 & 7 |
| 2 | 1 & 3 v 2 & 4 | 5 & 8 v 6 & 7 |
| 3 | 1 & 4 v 7 & 8 | 2 & 3 v 5 & 6 |
| 4 | 1 & 5 v 4 & 6 | 2 & 7 v 3 & 8 |
| 5 | 1 & 6 v 3 & 7 | 2 & 8 v 4 & 5 |
| 6 | 1 & 7 v 2 & 5 | 3 & 6 v 4 & 8 |
| 7 | 1 & 8 v 3 & 5 | 2 & 6 v 4 & 7 |
This is a special kind of schedule, sometimes called a "whist" schedule. It is very fair:
- Every player partners every other player exactly once. Seven rounds, seven partners.
- Every player faces every other player exactly twice. Nobody gets stuck against the same pair all night.
- Nobody sits out. All 8 players are on court every round.
How to read the table
Take player 5. In round 1 they play with 7 against 3 and 4. In round 2 they partner 8. By round 7 they have partnered all seven other players once. Try it with any number and it checks out.
A tip: number your players at random, or mix strong and newer players through the list. The schedule is fair to everyone, but the order of the rounds decides who meets whom early.
How long does the 8-player schedule take?
It depends on your points per round. A common planning figure for padel is around 15 minutes per round, including score reporting and court changes. That puts 7 rounds at about 1 hour 45 minutes, which fits neatly into a two-hour booking.
Short on time? Drop the points, or stop after 5 or 6 rounds. You lose a couple of partnerships, and nobody will mind. Our guide on how many points to play per round has rough timings.
How many rounds and courts for 12 and 16 players?
The rule is simple. With N players (a multiple of 4), you need N divided by 4 courts, and N minus 1 rounds for everyone to partner everyone once.
| Players | Courts | Rounds for full rotation |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 | 3 | 11 |
| 16 | 4 | 15 |
For 4 players on one court, the full schedule is tiny: 1 & 2 v 3 & 4, then 1 & 3 v 2 & 4, then 1 & 4 v 2 & 3. Everyone partners everyone once.
12 players
Three courts, 11 rounds for a full rotation. That's a lot of padel. At around 15 minutes a round, a full rotation needs close to three hours. Most clubs play fewer rounds in a two-hour slot and call it there.
16 players
Four courts, 15 rounds for a full rotation. You will almost never play them all at a social event. A two-hour night usually fits somewhere around 6 to 8 rounds, depending on your points target.
That's why we don't print 12 and 16-player tables here. Nobody plays the whole thing, and stopping halfway through a fixed chart can leave some players meeting the same opponents more than others.
Do you need a printed schedule at all?
Printed charts are great for 8 players. They get clumsy for bigger groups. If someone drops out, you want to stop early, or you add rounds on the night, a fixed table stops being fair.
Scorepion is a watch-first scoring app that runs Americano events for padel, tennis and badminton. It does not use a fixed printed table. In organiser mode it draws each round live for 4, 8, 12 or 16 players, and looks at the rounds already played to avoid repeat partnerships. That means it copes with stopping early or changing the number of rounds halfway through.
Every player plays every round, with no sit-outs, and every court reports its score before the next round is drawn. See the Americano app page for the full setup.
What else do you need to plan?
The schedule is only one piece. You also need courts booked, a points target, a briefing and a plan for late drop-outs. Our step-by-step guide to running an Americano covers the lot.
Let the app draw every round
Skip the printed chart. Scorepion draws each round live for 4, 8, 12 or 16 players, avoids repeat partners and keeps the ladder. You get 5 free matches, no card needed.
