How do you organize a tennis tournament?

Pick the format from your number of entrants and the hours you have. For most amateur events there are two sensible choices.

• Single elimination is the quickest: n entrants need n − 1 matches, and one loss ends your event. It suits one-day events with 8 to 32 players, but a player who loses in round 1 may go home after one match.
• Round-robin groups, then a knockout guarantee everyone several matches. Players are split into small groups, everyone plays everyone in their group, and the top finishers go through. Pick this when people have travelled.

A plain round robin is the fairest format, but it grows fast: 8 players need 28 matches. The USTA's Friend at Court allows a round robin in any division with eight or fewer entries, a good rule of thumb for clubs too. The tournament formats guide compares every option with match counts.

What about a consolation draw, or seeding?

A consolation draw gives first-round losers more tennis. In USTA New England's 2026 adult regulations, consolation matches use a 10-point tiebreak in place of a third set to keep them short. Flobit has no consolation bracket; for a second chance, use double elimination (Flobit needs a power-of-two field for it) or a group stage plus knockout.

Seeding spreads the strongest players apart. In LTA competitions the organizer decides whether an event is seeded, and byes go to the seeds in order, with any other byes spread evenly. Flobit draws the bracket at random and you can't set seeds by rating in the app, so tell your entrants it's a blind draw. For a seeded bracket, use the free bracket maker.

Change the scoring, not the number of players. Appendix VI of the ITF's Rules of Tennis lists approved alternatives; announce your choice before the event.

• No-ad scoring. At deuce, one deciding point wins the game, and the receiver chooses the side.
• Match tiebreak instead of a third set. At one set all, one tiebreak to 7 or 10 points (win by two) decides the match, after a 120-second set break.
• Short sets. First to four games, with a tiebreak at four games all (or three all, at the sanctioning body's discretion).
• A ten-point tiebreak at 6–6 in the final set.

Outside the ITF list, many clubs play an 8-game pro set. UTR Sports puts a best-of-three match at around 90 minutes and a recreational 8-game pro set at about 45 to 60 minutes.

Flobit scores best of 3 or 5, a pro set to 8 in singles (tiebreak at 8–8), a tiebreak at 6–6, advantage or no-ad, and a full final set or a super tiebreak to 10. The tennis scoring guide explains each. Write your choice on the entry page, because arguments about "we thought it was a full third set" happen at 4 p.m., not at registration.

Count court slots, not matches. A slot is one court for one match, plus warm-up and turnaround. The table assumes 75 minutes per slot for an 8-game pro set and 105 for best of three sets. Those are planning assumptions: UTR's figures (up to 60 minutes for a pro set, about 90 for best of three) plus roughly 15 minutes for the five-minute warm-up the ITF allows and for moving players on and off court. Each round must finish before the next starts.

Read it like this: 16 entrants on 4 courts need five slots in a row (two for round 1, then one each for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final), which is 6 hours 15 minutes of pro sets.

Best of three sets doesn't fit one day beyond 8 or 16 players unless you have many courts. A full round robin of 8 on 4 courts takes most of a day with pro sets and more than a day with best of three. Extra courts help the early rounds a lot and the final not at all. For 16 or more players in one day, use pro sets or a match tiebreak and set a hard finish time.

Work through these in order. Steps 1 to 4 decide whether the event can work at all.

1. Choose the date, the courts and a rain plan. Book the courts yourself with the venue and ask about indoor courts or a spare day. Flobit doesn't book courts.
2. Count your slots. Courts × hours ÷ the slot length from the table gives you the matches you can play.
3. Set a cap on entries. Round it to a number that fits: 8, 16 or 32 for a knockout, and groups of 3 or 4 for a group stage. Flobit lets you cap entries from 2 to 512.
4. Pick the format and the scoring. Write down the match length, the deciding-set method and advantage or no-ad.
5. Decide the category and the level. Men, Women, Mixed or Open, and an age range if you want one. Suggested levels guide players, and the tennis levels guide explains NTRP wording.
6. Set the entry fee, if any, and how it is paid. Agree the payment method with players directly, before the day.
7. Open registration with a closing date. Approve each entry, keep a waitlist, and ask doubles players to bring a partner.
8. Write a one-page rules sheet. Match format, warm-up length, late-arrival rule, ball policy, how scores are reported and who to call.
9. Close registration and make the draw. Tell entrants whether it is random or seeded, and publish it at least a few days ahead.
10. Publish the schedule. Give every match a time and a court. Allow a rest between a player's matches.
11. Send a reminder the day before. Include the address, the first match times and a phone number.
12. Run the day. See the next section.
13. Record results and thank people. Post the final bracket or table, and the winners.

Be early, call matches on time and keep the courts full. These rules keep the day moving.

• Warm-up. The ITF sets a maximum of five minutes unless the organizers decide otherwise.
• Pace of play. Up to 25 seconds between points, 90 seconds at a changeover and 120 seconds at a set break. Play is continuous after the first game of each set and during a tiebreak.
• Rest between sets. Organizers may allow up to ten minutes after the second set of a best-of-three match, if announced before the event.
• Late arrivals. Decide in advance. USTA New England's 2026 adult rules start the clock when the match is called and a court is free, add a game penalty for lateness, and default a player after 15 minutes. A shorter grace period suits a short day.
• Check-in. Have players confirm arrival in one place, and call the next match the moment a court frees up.
• Scores. Ask players to call the score before each serve and report the result to you straight away. The live score page lets others follow a match kept in Flobit.
• Water and shade. Provide both. They matter more than a perfect draw.

Keep a running board of results, a whiteboard or the live bracket, so players can see when they play next without asking you.

Every tournament meets these. Decide your answers before the day.

No-shows. Set a withdrawal deadline and a grace period for late arrivals. A player who doesn't turn up is a walkover: the opponent advances without playing. Ask for confirmation the evening before, and keep a waitlist. The no-shows guide has more ideas.

Odd numbers. In a knockout the bracket rounds up to the next power of two and empty places become byes: with 11 entrants the bracket has 16 places, 5 players get a bye, and there are still 10 matches. In a round robin with an odd number, one player sits out each round, so 7 players need 7 rounds of 3 matches each (21 in all), where 8 players need 7 rounds of 4 (28 in all).

Rain, heat and light. USTA New England leaves postponements for weather, darkness or court conditions to the tournament director. You need that same single decision-maker. Say where updates will appear, set a latest finish time, and decide what you'll cut first: a third-place match, consolation matches, then the length of the early rounds.

Disputes. The Rules of Tennis treat a ball that touches a line as good. Calling the score before each serve means a disagreement surfaces after a point, not after a match. Name who settles disputes and say the decision is final.

A player who leaves after the draw is out: in a knockout the next opponent gets a walkover. In a group stage, Flobit counts the remaining matches as losses, while LTA rules (Appendix Three 6.7) void all of that player's group results instead, so say which rule you use.

Flobit is free to use, with no ads, and handles the paperwork, not the courts. Create the tournament inside a community: choose single elimination, double elimination, a league (a round robin played once or twice), group + knockout or Mexicano, set the scoring and a cap from 2 to 512, and open registration. You approve each entry, there is a waitlist, and doubles players invite a partner.

On the day, referees (up to 20) or the players keep score point by point, and the bracket and standings update live. Trophies are awarded automatically, and a roster message formatted for WhatsApp or Telegram lets you paste the list into your group chat.

Know the limits. The draw is random, not seeded. There is no consolation bracket, and Flobit doesn't book courts or collect entry fees or prizes, so you handle the money and the venue yourself. Details are on the tournaments page.

Flobit also has an optional Flobit Plus subscription for advanced stats and a Plus badge. It gives no advantage in matches, tournaments or ratings.

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How do you make a tennis draw if the number of players isn't a power of two?

What is a match tiebreak in tennis?

How long should you allow per tennis match?

How do you handle a no-show in a tennis tournament?

Can Flobit run a tennis tournament with a consolation bracket?