Rules of Round Robin
In a round robin everyone meets everyone, with points accumulated across all matches. These are the rules of round robin:
- Play it in singles, in doubles with rotating partners, or as Team Round Robin with fixed teams. In rotating doubles you compete individually but play in pairs.
- With rotating partners you get a new partner every round and partner every other player once; in singles and with fixed teams, every entrant plays every other entrant once.
- Each match is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32. Each team serves 2–4 times, then the serve passes to the opponents.
- After all matches are played, the player or team with the most accumulated points across the tournament wins.
How do you score in Round Robin?
Round robin uses point-per-rally scoring, so consistency across the whole all-play-all matters more than one big result. Instead of games and sets, you earn one point for every rally you win, and your totals build up across every match.
- Every fixture is played to a set number of points — usually 16, 24 or 32 — or for a fixed time of 10–20 minutes per round.
- Each team serves twice before the serve passes to the opponents.
- Every rally won gives one point to the winning team.
- At the final whistle the score is credited to each player individually: a 24-point fixture that ends 10–14 gives players 1 and 2 ten points each and players 3 and 4 fourteen points each.
How to organize a Round Robin tournament?
To organize a round robin you need at least 4 players (2 in singles) or 3 teams. In CourtTable, pick Round Robin and a team size, add players from your directory, set your courts and scoring, and start.
- The number of courts you need depends on the number of players — plan for 4 players per court in doubles and 2 in singles. With fewer courts, CourtTable spreads the same matches over more rounds.
- Mixing levels is fine, but if the gaps are too large, split your round robin into separate groups or choose the Mexicano format instead so matches stay even.
- A typical round robin lasts about 2 hours, with a 24-point match taking roughly 10 minutes to play — cap the number of rounds if your court booking is shorter.
Team Round Robin
Round robin can also be played in teams. It works just like the individual round robin, but instead of competing alone you play in fixed, predetermined teams of one or two players, and every team meets every other team once.