Twelve players. Two courts. Who rests?

A hypothetical session. These players and situations are made up to illustrate organising choices. They are not customer results or a promise of a particular schedule.

Start with the places you actually have

Two doubles courts hold eight players. With twelve available, four rest each round. If everyone is present for three equal-length rounds, there are 24 playing places: eight places × three rounds. Divided among twelve people, that’s two games each.

This is an equal-time baseline, not a promise that every opponent or partner can also be different. Agree whether your group values variety, close games or keeping friends together most.

A three-round rest plan

Use letters as player labels. This table identifies who is available to fill the two courts; it does not prescribe partnerships.

Everyone plays twice and rests once. Start the next block with different rest groups if you want to create new combinations. Otherwise the same people will repeatedly be available together, limiting variety even if you change the teams.

Equal games aren’t always equal minutes

A game to 11 can finish quickly on one court and take much longer on another. If court time matters most, use an agreed playing window and change together. For example, an hour booking could include a six-minute welcome, six eight-minute playing windows, five one-minute changeovers and a final minute to pack up. Everyone gets four playing windows if you repeat the rest pattern twice.

That’s 32 scheduled playing minutes per person, before interruptions. Decide what happens at the timer: finish the rally and record the score, or apply another clearly agreed social rule. A timer is a local format choice, not a new official scoring rule.

What if eleven turn up?

Eight play and three rest. Three rounds provide 24 places, which does not divide evenly by eleven. Someone will play more in a short block; that isn’t automatically a broken rotation.

Across eleven equal rounds there are 88 places, enough for eight games and three rests each. A short booking may never reach that full cycle. Track the smaller differences, favour those who have played less at the next selection and explain that fairness is measured over the time people are available.

Late arrivals and early departures

Keep a late arrival out of a draw already on court. Add them at the next changeover and review the remaining rest pattern. Decide whether you are sharing the remaining time equally or trying to catch them up; those are different promises to the players who arrived on time. Mark someone unavailable when they leave so an old plan doesn’t keep giving them places.

Using the idea in PaddlePot

Set the players and courts to match the people actually available. For shared changeovers, choose round play and review the proposed courts and rests before starting. Use mixing priorities to express what matters after court access. Constraints such as fixed partners or format preferences can narrow the possible draw, so review the result rather than assuming every preference can be met.

Next: choose the kind of skill balance your group wants, or explore the app’s play modes.