Ladder
- Number of players
- Multiples of 4 or 5, up to 64
- Group limit
- Groups of 4 or 5 players, up to 16 groups
- Team format
- Rotating partners
- Bye option
- Only in groups of 5: one player sits out each round
- Courts needed
- 1 for each group
- Stages played
- You choose, from 1 to 20. Each stage is a full round in every group.
Unique features
- Mobile experience: managers enter scores on a phone, players follow live
- Airport-style large-screen kiosk for the club TV, with promotion and demotion shading
- Groups start from your seed order: manual seeds first, then rating (DUPR)
- Promote and demote 1 or 2 players per group each stage
- The next stage is built for you as groups finish
- Manager re-seeding
- Standings shade who is moving up and who is moving down
- Run it as a league: results carry from one session to the next
Rules
Players are placed in groups of 4 or 5. Inside a group everyone plays doubles with rotating partners. After each stage the best players move up a group and the weakest move down.
Inside a group
A group of 4 plays 3 rounds and every player partners every other player once. A group of 5 plays 5 rounds, and one player sits out each round.
Moving up and down
After a stage, the top 1 or 2 players of each group move up to the group above, and the bottom 1 or 2 move down. The top group has no group above and the bottom group has none below, so their players stay.
Ranking
Players are ranked in their group by wins, then points won, then point difference. The organizer can add head-to-head.
About Ladder
Ladder is a climbing format. Group 1 holds the strongest players and the last group the newest. Everyone plays doubles inside their group, then the groups are rebuilt for the next stage.
Because the best players rise and the weakest drop, every group ends up playing people of a similar level. The organizer chooses how many stages to play and how many players move at each stage.
The next stage for a group is created automatically once that group and its neighbours have finished their matches. The event is finished when the last stage is complete.
How does it work?
- Seed the players
Your order first, then rating. Group 1 gets the top seeds.
- Play the stage
Each group plays its rounds of doubles with rotating partners.
- Score every match
The standings show who is moving up and who is moving down.
- Move up and down
The top 1 or 2 move up, the bottom 1 or 2 move down. The next stage is built for you.
- Repeat to the last stage
The event finishes when the last stage you chose is complete.
On the club TV
The kiosk shows each group with its standings. The players moving up are shaded green and the players moving down are shaded red.
Suitability comparison
A green check shows which play styles each format is best suited to.
| Format | Intense competition | Competitive fun | Social & casual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crazy 8's | Not suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Ladder | Not suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| King & Queen | Not suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Team Challenge | Suitable | Suitable | Not suitable |
| Compass Draw | Suitable | Suitable | Not suitable |
| Wildcard* | Suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Social | Not suitable | Not suitable | Suitable |
| Mixer | Not suitable | Not suitable | Suitable |
| Round Robin with Playoffs | Suitable | Suitable | Not suitable |
| Round Robin Rotating Teams | Not suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Round Robin Set Teams | Not suitable | Suitable | Not suitable |
| Inter-clubs | Suitable | Suitable | Not suitable |
| Flex | Not suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Single Elimination | Suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable |
| Double Elimination | Suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable |