King of the Court padel: rules & free generator

How does King of the Court padel work?

Courts are ranked, with the king court at the top. Every round each court plays a short match, and then everybody moves at once:

Court	Winning pair	Losing pair
King court (court 1)	Stays, and earns a crown	Drops to court 2
Middle courts	Moves up one court	Moves down one court
Bottom court	Moves up one court	Joins the back of the queue

The pair at the front of the queue takes the free place on the bottom court. With nobody waiting, the losing pair on the bottom court simply stays where it is.

The format sorts itself. After a few rounds the strongest pairs have climbed and are playing each other on the king court, while the rest find their level further down, without anyone having to seed the field in advance. At the start the pairs fill the courts in the order you typed them: the first two pairs on the king court, the next two on court 2, and any pairs left over in the queue.

How do you win King of the Court?

In PadelLoop the pair with the most crowns wins, one crown per round won on the king court, and points scored across all courts break a tie, so a pair that never reached the top still has a number on the board. Many clubs play it more simply and crown whoever holds the king court when time runs out; counting crowns rewards the pair that held the top longest, not the one that got there last.

Every court needs a winner before anyone moves. The tool will not call the next round until each court has a result that is not level, so if a timed round ends at a tie, play one deciding point.

When does King of the Court work best?

It suits a drop-in session where people arrive at different times and the group is too big for everyone to be on court at once, because a queue is built into the format rather than bolted on.

Keep the matches short. King/Queen of the Court lives on frequent movement, so a target of 8 or 11 points, or a fixed five to seven minutes per round, works better than a long match that freezes the ladder. Two courts is the practical minimum: with one court there is no up and down, only a queue.

Running a King of the Court session covers how many courts to book and how long to make a round, and a padel ladder is the season-long cousin of the same idea.

What to know before you start

Pairs stay together, so it needs an even number of players. PadelLoop blocks an odd count rather than starting a session that would leave someone out.

A pair that arrives after the start is added with two names while the session runs. It joins the back of the queue and comes in on the bottom court when its turn comes; nobody already on court moves. If you set up a court that the first pairs could not fill, it opens at the next round once two pairs are waiting. It is the one format in PadelLoop where the list stays open after you press start.

The hall screen and the share link work here too. Open one link on the TV in the hall and the courts, the queue and the crown count update as you enter results, with the king court on top; players can open the same link on their own phones. The CSV export is still for the social formats only.

Set up King of the Court padel in PadelLoop

Choose King/Queen of the Court on the setup page.
Type the pairs two by two down the list. The order decides who starts on the king court.
Pick the courts, ideally two or more, and press start.
After each round, enter the score on every court. When all courts have a winner, the tool moves the pairs and shows the next line-up.
Add late pairs as they arrive, and keep the hall screen on the TV so everyone can see where to go next.

King of the Court padel: common questions

What are the rules of King/Queen of the Court in padel?

Winners move up one court and losers move down one, on a ladder of courts with the king court at the top. The losing pair on the bottom court joins the queue. Play a set number of rounds or a set time. PadelLoop counts a crown for every round won on the king court, and the most crowns wins.

How many players do you need for King of the Court padel?

At least 8 in practice: 4 pairs on two courts, because with one court there is no up and down. 4 players can start it, but on one court nothing moves. Pairs stay together, so the count has to be even. With a big group the queue does the work, which is why it suits drop-in sessions.

Can a pair join after King/Queen of the Court has started?

Yes. The organiser types the two names in while the session runs, and the pair joins the back of the queue, coming in on the bottom court when its turn comes. The round in progress is untouched. Pairs can be added this way, but not taken out again.

How long should each round be?

Short: 8 or 11 points, or a fixed 5 to 7 minutes. That keeps pairs moving between courts often enough for the ladder to sort itself out. If rounds run long, the movement stalls and the session turns into a set of separate matches, which is the one thing this format is not meant to be.

Is King/Queen of the Court the same as Winner Stays On?

Not quite. Winner Stays On keeps the winning pair on the same court and sends in a challenger from the queue. King/Queen of the Court moves winners up a ranked ladder of courts and losers down, so the movement runs both ways and the court you are on tells you roughly where you stand.