Tournament rules

• The tournament runs to schedule: arrive 15 minutes early, warm up on your own court.
• If you chose to pay online, the place is held for 30 minutes. Not paid within that time and the registration is cancelled by itself, and the place goes to the first reserve.
• Paying on site is not offered at every tournament: where places are scarce, the fee is taken online only. What is available is shown when you sign up.
• If the roster is full, join the reserve: when someone withdraws, the first in the queue moves into the roster automatically and gets an email.
• You can withdraw yourself up to 24 hours before the start (some tournaments have a different limit — it is shown on the tournament page).
• Not turning up without warning, or unsporting behaviour, earns a red card. Five active cards temporarily close tournament registration.
• In Americano and Mexicano you do not choose your partner: the organiser makes the pairs and changes them every round.
• By signing up you confirm that you have read these rules.

These are amateur club tournaments run by Paddle Plus. They are not part of the International Padel Federation (FIP) calendar and are not official competitions: no FIP ranking and no licence is needed to play.

The sporting basis is the ordinary rules of padel — the serve, the rally, the walls, the scoring of a point. Everything about the format, the pairings, registration, payment, the reserve and discipline is our own, and it is described below. Where we depart from the usual, we say so plainly: a Paddle Plus rule.

If something is not covered here, the ordinary rules of padel apply, as far as they fit the chosen format at all.

A tournament has a category and a level, both shown on its page. The «men» and «women» categories are checked against the gender in your profile: the site simply will not let you enter the wrong one, and if the gender is missing it will ask you to fill it in. «Mixed» and «open» are for everyone.

The level is a guide, not a sporting rank. Choose a tournament that matches how you actually play: if a player who is clearly too strong enters a beginners' tournament, all four people on that court have a dull time. The organiser may suggest a different tournament or remove an entry if the level is obviously wrong — that is care for the field, not a punishment.

Your data is your responsibility: the first and last name from your profile appear in the participant list and the table, so write them in Latin letters and the way people can address you on court. Playing under someone else's account or handing your entry to another person is not allowed: the organiser runs the field by name.

When you register on the site you assess your own level once — that only sets your starting points. After that the level is calculated by itself, from your places in tournaments.

• Registration opens at the time shown on the tournament page. If the tournament gives club members a head start, only Gold members can enter for the first 24 hours, and everyone else the next day. Some tournaments are for club members only — the card says so.
• Registration closes at the time shown on the page. After that you cannot enter, accept an invitation or pay through the site. Only the organiser can make an exception by hand.
• The entry fee is on the tournament card. Club members have their own price, shown in the same place.
• You choose how to pay when you sign up: online on the site, on site before the start, or with a gift code for free entry.
• A Paddle Plus rule: with online payment the place is held for 30 minutes. Pay within that time — the «Pay» button is on the tournament page and in «My tournaments», and the same place shows until when the seat is held. Miss it and the registration is cancelled by itself, the place goes to the first reserve, and you can sign up again at any time if a place is left.
• Come back to pay later and the countdown starts again from that moment.
• Paying on site is not available everywhere: the organiser switches it on per tournament. Where it is off, a place is taken only by someone who pays at once or arrives with a gift code.
• If two people go for the last place at the same time, the one whose registration went through first gets it: the site handles entries one after another, so the field never exceeds its capacity. The second is offered the reserve, if there is room in it.

You can invite someone who is your friend on the site. Open the tournament, pick your friends and send the invitation — it arrives by email and as a notification.

Your friend opens the tournament and either declines or accepts — choosing a payment method and confirming the rules, exactly as in a normal registration.

• A Paddle Plus rule: an invitation does not reserve a place and does not move the queue. Until your friend accepts it, the place is free for everybody.
• If the roster is full by the time they answer, they join the reserve; if the reserve is full too, they cannot enter.
• Invitations live until registration closes; after that they expire by themselves.
• You cannot invite anyone to a cancelled tournament or to one they have already entered — the site will say so.

• Once the main roster is full, new entries go to the reserve. The number of reserve places differs per tournament (usually three) and is shown on the page.
• Reserves queue by the time they signed up. As soon as someone withdraws, the first in the queue moves into the roster and receives an email — nothing needs to be confirmed.
• You can leave the reserve at any time before the start.
• If you sign up again after withdrawing, your time counts from that moment: you go to the end of the queue. Otherwise someone who withdrew would keep an advantage over those who waited.
• A Paddle Plus rule: a tournament is played with a full roster only. If the roster is not complete when registration closes, the tournament is cancelled automatically, everyone gets an email with the reason, and fees paid online are refunded.

• You can withdraw yourself up to 24 hours before the start. Some tournaments have a different limit — it is shown on the tournament page.
• Withdrawn in time: the place goes straight to the first reserve and there is no red card. A fee paid online is refunded automatically, the same way you paid — you do not have to ask. The money travels through the bank, so it does not arrive instantly.
• We return only what was actually paid: if you chose to pay on site and paid nothing, there is nothing to return.
• If you played on a gift code and withdrew in time, the code becomes valid again until its own expiry date.
• Withdrawn later, or not turning up: the fee is not returned. The court and the net are already paid for, and the field cannot be rebuilt at the last moment.
• If we cancel the tournament — for any reason — the fee comes back in full and without asking.
• A refund for a late withdrawal because of illness or another good reason is the organiser's decision. Write to them; do not wait for the day of the tournament.

A tournament can be cancelled by the site itself — when the roster is not complete as registration closes — or by the organiser: the court is out of use, the weather, illness.

In both cases the tournament is marked «cancelled», it can no longer be played, and everyone who signed up gets an email: what happened, what happens to the fee and which tournaments are next. Fees paid online are returned the way you paid; those who were going to pay on site simply pay nothing.

• Arrive 15 minutes early: the organiser notes who is there and announces the first round.
• Running late: the organiser waits as long as the schedule allows and may start without you. A missed round is not replayed — you join from the next one.
• If you are not there at the start and did not warn anyone, that is a no-show: a red card is recorded and your slot is covered as the format allows.
• Follow your court and round yourself: the organiser announces the pairs but will not chase every player. One delayed match pushes all the following ones.
• If the tournament uses several courts, matches run at the same time, and your next round may be on a different court.

Americano is a format where everyone plays for themselves while the partner changes every round. Points are recorded for the player, not for the pair.

• A round: four players on court split into two pairs according to the schedule the organiser keeps. In the next round the pairs change.
• The score of a round: play to a fixed total — usually 24, in short tournaments 16, in long ones 32. The organiser announces the exact number before the start. A rally always ends in a point; there is no advantage.
• A player's points: each member of a pair is credited with the points the pair scored in that round. The losing pair also keeps its points — that is the whole idea of the format.
• The serve: the pair that won the previous rally serves; inside a pair the servers alternate. The serve is underarm, after the bounce, diagonally.
• Time: a round has a time limit. If time runs out before the total is reached, the round is stopped and the current score is recorded.
• The result: the player with the highest total across all rounds wins.

Mexicano is the same idea, but the pairs for the next round come from the current standings rather than from a schedule made in advance. So you almost always play with people on a similar score.

• The first round: pairs are drawn by lot or made from the declared level.
• After that: the table is recalculated after every round, players are split into groups of four by position, and inside each four the first and the fourth play against the second and the third.
• The score of a round, the serve and the time limit are as in Americano.
• The result: the player with the highest total of points wins.

• Type: both are individual — the player wins, not the pair.
• Partner: changes in both.
• Next pairs: in Americano from a schedule made in advance; in Mexicano from the current results.
• Result: in both, your personal total across all rounds.

We do not promise that you will never play with the same partner twice: with few players or few courts repeats are unavoidable, and the organiser simply tries not to multiply them.

A Paddle Plus rule: before a match the first serve is decided by spinning a racket.

• One team chooses which way up the writing on the racket's edge counts as the winning side: the right way round (readable) or upside down.
• A player from the other team spins the racket around its axis.
• When the racket has come to a full stop, everyone looks at how the writing lies.
• If it landed the chosen way, the team that chose serves. If it landed the other way, the other team serves.

In Americano and Mexicano the spin is repeated every round, because the pairs change.

• The score of every round is entered by the organiser, and they are the only one who can correct it. Spotted a mistake — tell them straight away, ideally before the tournament ends: once the results are published, a correction becomes a separate conversation.
• Your place in the tournament comes from the total of the points you scored in all rounds.
• Equal points: the player with more won rounds is placed higher. If that is equal too, the order in the table is fixed and does not change between views, and the prize places in such a case are announced by the organiser — who may have a deciding rally played or share the place.
• The club ranking: a place in a tournament gives points — 5 for first, 4 for second, 3 for third, 1 each for fourth and fifth, 0 for sixth and seventh, and −1 for anything below seventh. The ranking season is the calendar year.
• Player level: the same points are added to your starting self-assessment and produce the level badge next to your name. It changes by itself and is not reset in January.

• Players settle disputed balls themselves, calmly. If you cannot agree, the rally is replayed. That is faster and fairer than any argument.
• Deliberately misleading an opponent — calling a ball out while knowing it was in — is a breach of the conduct rules, not tactics.
• If the dispute is about a recorded score, go to the organiser during the tournament, not three days later. They listen to both sides, look at what is recorded, ask the people who were nearby if needed, and decide.
• The organiser's decision on a dispute is final for that tournament. If you believe it was unfair, write to us at vts.juhendaja@gmail.com — we will look into it separately, though the tournament result usually no longer changes.

The rules are simple, and they are about respect rather than sport.

• Respect your opponents, your partners, the organiser and the club staff. On court you play the game, not the person.
• Follow the rules of the venue hosting the tournament.
• Play fair: do not distract your opponent on purpose, do not waste time, do not argue for advantage.
• Follow the organiser's instructions about safety and the run of the tournament.
• Do not disturb matches on the neighbouring courts.
• Losing calmly is part of the game. A tournament is played for the game itself.

• Insults, threats, aggression — in words or in action.
• Discrimination and demeaning remarks of any kind, and sexual harassment.
• Deliberate physical contact aimed at another person.
• Damaging rackets, nets, glass, the surface or any other property of the club.
• Deliberately interfering with someone else's match.
• Knowingly distorting the score or any attempt to rig a result.
• Playing under someone else's account, or handing your entry to another person without the organiser's agreement.
• Substances that affect behaviour and safety, where the venue rules or the law forbid them.
• Refusing to follow the organiser's reasonable instructions about safety.

Our tournaments are cheap and sometimes free, so a place taken and abandoned without warning ruins the game for everyone else. Rudeness on court ruins it too. Both earn a red card on your account.

• A card for a no-show: you signed up, did not withdraw and did not come.
• A card for behaviour: rudeness towards an opponent, a partner or the organiser, insults, damage to equipment or the surface, refusing to finish a match. You can get it even if you turned up and played.
• Every breach is its own card: turning up and being rude is one; having missed a tournament before that makes two.
• A card does not last forever: three months for behaviour, two for a no-show, counted from the day the organiser recorded it. Once the period is over, the card is gone.
• Five active cards close tournament registration. The block is temporary: it lifts by itself as soon as the oldest card expires.
• Warn in time, within the withdrawal limit, and there is no card. If you were moved up from the reserve after that limit, a no-show gives no card either: you may not have learned about it in time.
• The cards are visible in your account: what each one was for and at which tournament. A person records them, not a machine — so a person can remove one. If you think a card is unfair, write to vts.juhendaja@gmail.com.

A Paddle Plus rule: a serious breach during the tournament lets the organiser stop your participation on the spot, if safety or the run of the game requires it. The fee is not returned in that case.

• Play in sports shoes suited to the court: on a slippery sole an injury is a matter of time.
• Warm up before the first round. The tournament runs tightly and there will be no time between matches.
• Take care near the glass and the net: most injuries on a padel court are collisions, not balls.
• Do not throw your racket: there are people around.
• If something hurts, stop and tell the organiser. Playing on through an injury is not allowed, and nobody will ask you to.
• The organiser records a withdrawal through injury separately: there is no red card for it. Rounds already played stay in the table as they are.
• The balls are provided by the organiser. The racket is yours to look after; a damaged racket must not be used if it is dangerous to you or to the others on court.
• If you see something dangerous — broken glass, a puddle, someone hurt — tell the club staff at once, do not wait for the round to end.

A tournament is run by a real person — the organiser. Their name and contacts are on the tournament page.

They may take decisions in situations not described here: change the schedule and the courts, stop a match, bring in a player from the reserve, remove a participant for the sake of safety or fairness. A decision must be reasonable and must not contradict these rules.

We ask only one thing: arguing about a decision on court is a bad idea, the whole tournament suffers. If you disagree, tell the organiser after the round or write to us at vts.juhendaja@gmail.com.

Every tournament page shows the format, category and level, the date and time, the place, the entry fee and the club price, the capacity and the number of reserve places, when registration closes and by when you can withdraw, plus any special rules.

If a special rule of a tournament differs from these general rules, the tournament's rule applies — it was written for that field and that court. After it come these tournament rules, then the site's terms of use, then the venue's rules, then the law. Nothing here takes away your rights as a consumer.

• Can I choose my partner? In Americano and Mexicano, no: the organiser makes the pairs and changes them every round.
• I sent my friend an invitation — is the place reserved? No. A place is taken only by the friend's own registration.
• I signed up online but have not paid yet. Am I in? The place is held for 30 minutes — until then it is yours. Do not pay and the registration cancels itself. If you chose to pay on site, the place is yours until the tournament.
• The tournament is full, what now? Join the reserve. If a place frees up, you move into the roster automatically and get an email.
• I am late. Will I be let in? If the tournament has not gone too far — yes, from the next round. The missed round is not replayed.
• I did not come and did not warn anyone. What happens? A red card, and the fee is not returned.
• Can a score be corrected? Yes, by the organiser — tell them as soon as you notice.
• I got a red card and I disagree. Write to vts.juhendaja@gmail.com: a person recorded it and a person will review it.
• Do I get my money back if the tournament is cancelled? Yes, in full and without asking.
• And if I withdrew in time myself? Also yes: the refund goes out automatically if the fee was paid online.

During a tournament, ask the organiser — the contacts are on the tournament page. Everything else: vts.juhendaja@gmail.com, phone +372 5800 7144.

Payment and refund terms are in the terms of sale; how we handle your data is in the privacy policy.