How to organise a beach tennis tournament

1. Pick the format

Choose the format before you invite anyone, because it decides how many players and courts you need:

• Americano — rotating partners, individual points, the best social default.
• Mexicano — rounds drawn from the live table, better when levels differ.
• Classic — fixed pairs, sets to 6 games, for a more serious event.
• Bullet — short four-game matches when time on court is limited.
• Olympia — team knockout for 16 players or more, pairing the strongest with the weakest by rating.

2. Match players, courts and rounds

Each beach tennis court hosts four players per round. With 8 players and 2 courts everybody plays every round; with 10 players and 2 courts two people rest each round, so the number of rounds must complete a full rotation for the games to be equal.

Plan around 12-15 minutes per round to 16 points, so a 15-round evening takes roughly three hours including breaks.

3. Score it live, not on paper

Paper sheets are where trust breaks down. Entering scores on a phone keeps the table correct after every round, shows who plays next on which court, and removes arguments about points.

In Luc the organiser enters scores, the standings update instantly, and players follow the same table from their own phones.

4. Finish with a playoff or a cup final

Most groups play a table stage first and then a final. The tournament winner is the leader of the table before the playoff; the playoff itself awards the cup.

With 4-7 players Luc seeds a cup final from the top four (1st with 4th against 2nd with 3rd). If two players tie at the top, a golden decider match settles it.

5. Keep the community playing

One-off events fade; ratings keep people coming back. Every match in Luc updates a per-sport ELO rating, career levels, medals for table podiums and cups for playoff wins.

Season leagues collect results over weeks, clubs get member lists and QR invites, and reminders go out by push, email and in-app notification before each event.

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