Guides for amateur players: rules, levels and organizing games

Updated 9 October 2026

In short

Plain-English guides for amateur players. They explain how scoring works in padel, tennis and other sports, what your level means, how tournament formats and round robin schedules work, and how to organize games: pickup groups, no-shows, fair teams and finding partners in a new city. Each guide opens with a short answer and lists its sources.

How does padel scoring work?Padel is scored like tennis. Points go 15, 30, 40, then game, and the first pair to win six games, two clear, takes a set. Matches are best of three sets. At…
What padel level am I?Padel levels run from 1.0 (just starting out) to 7.0 (top-ranked professional) in half-point steps. A 3.0 is consistent and starting to play the walls, a 4.0…
What is an Americano in padel, and how do you run one?A padel Americano is a social tournament where you change partner every round and score for yourself. Each match is played to a fixed number of points, usually…
How does a Mexicano work in padel?A Mexicano is a padel format where players enter individually and change partners every round. Round one is random or set by level. After that, players are…
How do you play padel? Rules for beginnersPadel is a racket sport played in doubles on a 10 by 20 metre court enclosed by glass walls and mesh. You serve diagonally after bouncing the ball and hitting…
How does tennis scoring work?Tennis points are called love (0), 15, 30 and 40, and the fourth point wins the game. At 40–40 (deuce) a player must win two points in a row, or one deciding…
What is my NTRP tennis rating?NTRP is the USTA's 1.0 to 7.0 tennis level scale, in half-point steps. A 3.0 player is fairly consistent at medium pace, a 3.5 has directional control on…
How do you find a tennis partner near you?Use more than one route. Ask at your local club or courts, join an open-play session or a league, ask a coach to introduce you, and post a clear note with your…
Table tennis scoring rules: is ping pong played to 11 or 21?Table tennis games are played to 11 points and must be won by 2, so 10–10 plays on until someone leads by two. Matches are best of 3, 5 or 7 games. Each player…
How does badminton scoring work, and is it 15 points now?Badminton uses rally scoring: every rally wins a point. Today a game goes to 21, must be won by 2 and is capped at 30, and a match is best of three. From Monday…
Volleyball rules for beginners: scoring, rotation and faultsVolleyball uses rally scoring: every rally gives a point to the team that wins it. Indoor sets go to 25 and must be won by two, matches are best of five, and a…
Pickup basketball rules: 1s and 2s, games to 11 or 21, and 3x3Pickup basketball has no single rulebook, so agree the rules before the first shot. Many games use 1s and 2s: 1 point inside the three-point line, 2 beyond it…
5-a-side and futsal rules: how many players, how long and what is different?Futsal and 5-a-side both have five players per team, goalkeeper included. FIFA's futsal laws set two 20-minute halves on a stopped clock, a low-bounce ball…
Ultimate frisbee rules for beginners: how do you play?In ultimate frisbee, two teams of seven pass a disc and score by catching it in the end zone they attack. You can't run with the disc: the thrower pivots on one…
What's the best tournament format: single elimination, double elimination or round robin?There's no single best format. Choose single elimination when time is short (n − 1 matches), double elimination when one loss shouldn't end an entrant's event…
How do you make a round robin schedule?A round robin has n(n − 1)/2 matches. With an even number of players it takes n − 1 rounds; with an odd number it takes n rounds, and one player sits out each…
How do you organize a pickup game?Pick a fixed day, time and place, then set a minimum and a maximum number of players. Keep one list of who's in, with a waitlist, and ask for a firm yes by a…
How do you stop no-shows in a sports group?Make a yes mean something. Ask for a firm in or out by a deadline, treat maybe as out, and remind people 48 hours before and again on game day. Keep a waitlist…
How do you find people to play sports with in a new city?Use more than one channel and keep going back to the same one. Join a club or league for regular fixtures, add a pickup game or open session for variety, and…
How do you make fair teams for a pickup game?Rank the players from strongest to weakest, then deal them out in a snake order: one to team A, two to team B, two to team A, and so on. Add up each side's…

How are the guides organized?

The guides fall into four groups, and you can read them in any order.

Rules and scoring. How each sport is scored and played at amateur level: padel scoring and padel rules, tennis scoring, table tennis, volleyball, pickup basketball, five-a-side and futsal, and ultimate frisbee. There is also a badminton scoring guide, although badminton is coming soon to Flobit.
Levels. What a rating means and how to rate yourself honestly: padel levels and tennis levels, including NTRP.
Formats and schedules. How to run an event: tournament formats, the round robin schedule, and the padel Americano and Mexicano formats.
Organizing. The people side of sport: pickup games, no-shows, fair teams, and finding a partner in your sport or in a new city.

Where to start: if you're new to a sport, read its rules guide and then its levels guide. If you run a group, start with pickup games, then no-shows and fair teams. If you're planning an event, start with tournament formats.

Can I trust the rules and numbers in these guides?

Every guide opens with a short direct answer, then gives the detail. Each one lists its sources with the date they were last checked, and the date at the top shows when the guide last changed. Where a rule book exists, such as a federation's laws of the game, the guide follows it.

When a guide mentions Flobit, it describes only what the app does today. For example, Flobit runs Mexicano tournaments but not Americano, and it does not book courts.

What if I can't find my question?

Try the FAQ for short answers about Flobit itself, such as what is free and how open matches work. To see which sports Flobit supports and which formats each one has, browse the sports pages, which link to that sport's guides. If your question is still missing, contact support and tell us what you were looking for, so we can write the guide.

Frequently asked questions

Are these guides the official rules?

No. They explain rules and formats in plain words and point to the official sources, such as federation rule books, so you can check the detail yourself. If a competition publishes its own rules, those come first.

Do I need Flobit to use these guides?

No. The guides are free to read and work with any app, a spreadsheet or pen and paper. Flobit is there if you want to keep score, find players or run the event in an app.

Which sports do the guides cover?

The rules and scoring guides cover padel, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, pickup basketball, five-a-side and futsal, and ultimate frisbee, plus badminton scoring (badminton is coming soon to Flobit). The formats and organizing guides apply to almost any sport.