How to organise a tennis tournament

A well-run tennis tournament looks effortless and runs on schedule. A badly run one drags two hours past the planned finish, ends with the wrong winner because of a bracket mistake, and leaves players unsure when their next match starts. The difference between the two is preparation, not luck.

This guide walks through every decision you need to make, in the order you should make it, to run a 16- or 32-player tennis tournament in a club or community setting. It assumes you’re an organiser, not a tournament director with a clipboard and a computer system — but the principles are the same.

Decide the format and field size first

Format and field size are linked. You can’t choose one without the other.

For 8 players: Round robin (everyone plays everyone). Takes a full day with 2 courts, gives every player 7 matches, defensible winner. The format with the strongest fairness claim.

For 16 players, 1 day: Single elimination with optional third-place playoff. 15 matches total, finishes in about 7 hours on 4 courts. Top seed only needs to win 4 matches. Lower seeds play one match and go home — that’s the trade-off.

For 16 players, 1 weekend: Pool play with playoffs. 4 pools of 4 in the morning of day 1, top 2 from each pool advance to a quarterfinal bracket on day 2. Every player gets at least 3 matches, top finishers get 6+. Most satisfying format if you have the time.

For 32 players: Pool play, no question. 8 pools of 4 in the pool stage, top 1 from each pool to a single-elim bracket. Or 4 pools of 8 if you’ve got two days and serious commitment.

The best tournament formats guide has the full decision matrix.

Singles or doubles

Doubles is the right default for social tennis tournaments. Three reasons:

1. Faster matches. Doubles points are quicker, sets finish faster. A typical doubles match is 45–60 minutes vs 60–90 for singles.
2. Lower skill barrier. A weak player partnered with a strong one still has fun. A weak player playing singles against a strong one gets crushed in 25 minutes.
3. Better scaling. With 16 players you’ve got 8 doubles teams = 7 matches in single elim. Cleaner bracket, less dead time.

Singles is the right call when the goal is to crown an individual champion (club championship, ranking event), or when the field is roughly equal skill and you want one-on-one drama.

Book courts before anything else

Court availability is the constraint everything else flexes around. Don’t pick a date and then try to book courts — book courts and then announce the date.

Rough requirements:

• 8-player round robin, 2 courts, 1 day: 7 hours of court time
• 16-player single elim, 4 courts, 1 day: 7 hours
• 16-player pool play, 4 courts, 2 days: 6 hours day 1, 4 hours day 2
• 32-player pool play, 6 courts, 2 days: 8 hours day 1, 5 hours day 2

Add 30 minutes either side for warmup and prize-giving. Always book one extra court if you can — match overruns are inevitable and a single delayed match ripples through the schedule.

Lock in the booking 4–8 weeks before the event. Confirm in writing.

Open registration and seed the field

Registration opens 3–4 weeks before the tournament. Ask for:

• Full name (for the bracket)
• Self-rated level (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced) or UTR/NTRP if your players use it
• Recent match record (optional but helps seeding)
• Preferred match days/times (helps with no-shows)
• Payment confirmation

Charge an entry fee. $20–40 for a one-day club tournament is standard. It covers court hire, balls, and prizes, and filters out flakes.

Close registration 1 week before the tournament. Use the last week to seed players and build the bracket.

Seeding accuracy matters

Seeding is the single biggest determinant of how the tournament plays out. Bad seeding = top seeds eliminating each other in round 2 while a #14 seed cruises to the final. Good seeding spreads the strong players across the bracket so they only meet in the later rounds.

If you have ELO ratings or UTRs, use them. Sort players from highest to lowest. If you don’t, use your judgement combined with recent match results from the past 3 months.

Once you’ve got the seed order, drop the names into the Tournament Bracket Maker and it builds the bracket with standard 1-vs-N pairing automatically.

Scoring rules — pick once, communicate clearly

Tennis has more scoring variants than any other racquet sport, and tournament organisers ruin events by changing the format mid-tournament or assuming everyone knows the rules. Decide before, announce in writing, stick to it.

Standard options:

• Best of 3 sets, regular tiebreak at 6-6, ad scoring. The classic. Matches run 60–90 minutes. Use for full-day tournaments with serious players.
• Best of 3 sets, no-ad scoring (deciding point at deuce). Faster — saves 10–15 minutes per match. Use when you’re running tight on court time.
• Best of 3 short sets to 4 games (Fast4). Each set first to 4 games, with a tiebreak at 3-3. Match length 30–45 minutes. Use for doubles socials with limited time.
• Match tiebreak instead of third set. First two sets standard, third set replaced by a 10-point tiebreak. Caps match length at ~75 minutes.
• Pro set: first to 8 games. Single set, first to 8 (tiebreak at 7-7). Use for round robin where you need many matches in a day.

Pick one. Print it on the tournament info sheet. Volley has all of these built in — when you create the tournament, pick the format and the scoring follows automatically.

Match day operations

This is where amateurs get crushed by tournament logistics. The fix is checklists.

Before play starts

• Confirm court bookings with the venue manager
• Print 5 copies of the bracket / schedule (players will lose them)
• Bring 2 cans of fresh balls per court for the first round, plus a full case of spares
• Set up a check-in table at the entrance
• Designate one person (probably you) as the tournament director — they make all rule decisions on the spot

As matches start

• Mark each match as “in progress” on the master bracket
• Check in with each court every 30 minutes — record completed scores immediately
• Update the bracket the moment a match ends, send the next pair onto the freed-up court
• Don’t let players “wait until the next round starts” — start them as soon as a court is free

Score tracking

You have two options:

1. Paper bracket. Free, no battery. Updates manually. Risk: lost or illegible.
2. Live in Volley. Players score their own matches in the app, the bracket and standings update for everyone in real time, and you focus on logistics instead of paperwork.

Option 2 is the standard for any tournament with more than 16 players. It also gives every player a permanent match history and ELO update afterwards.

Prize structure

Don’t overthink it. Three tiers:

• Champion: Trophy or significant prize ($50–150 value depending on entry fees)
• Runner-up: Smaller prize or voucher
• Best new player / spirit award: Recognises the player who showed up, played hard, and improved most. Prevents the same person from winning everything every year.

Skip “longest match”, “best comeback”, and other gimmick awards unless your culture loves them. They’re charming but they take time to organise.

Communication

Send 4 messages, no more, no fewer:

• 3 weeks out: Announcement with date, venue, format, fee, registration link
• 1 week out: Confirmation of entry, reminder of date and time, parking info
• Night before: Schedule for day 1 — first match time per player, court assignments
• Day of: Live updates in the group chat as matches finish

Common mistakes

• Building the bracket the night before. You’ll forget someone or seed wrong. Lock the bracket 3 days before.
• Letting matches start late. First match starts on time or the whole day slips.
• Not having a tiebreaker rule for the third set. Match tiebreak is the safe default. Decide before, announce in writing.
• Forgetting balls. Two cans per court per round. Always bring extras.
• Assuming everyone knows the format. Print the rules. Hand them out at check-in. Players will still ask.
• No prize-giving plan. Win the day with a clean prize ceremony at the end. Players hate trickling out without recognition.

When you’re ready

Build your bracket with the Tournament Bracket Maker (single elim) or the Round Robin Generator (round robin) — both free, both printable. Or skip the paperwork and run the whole tournament in Volley: registration, seeding, bracket, live scoring, automatic ratings, and prize-giving in one app.

If you’re running the tournament as the launch event for a new club, the how to start a social sports club guide covers the bigger picture.