Frequently asked questions

What everyone asks before getting started.

Payments, leagues, scoring and the little quirks of each gameplay mode. If you have a question and don't see it here, write to us — we'll add it.

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Payments and bookings

01
Does Padel Rank charge for the courts? Is it a booking gateway?

No. Padel Rank doesn't process payments or handle bookings. You keep booking wherever you used to (Playtomic, the club's website, whatever you use).

What we do is the social and competitive layer on top: rankings, matches, ELO, polls, scoring, stats. Built for groups that already play and want to keep track properly.

How do I record who paid for the court?

When you create or edit a match you have the Court price and Who paid fields. They're there so the group can keep track of who fronted the money or who owes the next round / beers.

It's just a record — we don't move money. The payment agreement between you all happens outside the app.

Do you have deals with clubs or integration with Playtomic / Matchpoint?

For now, no. Padel Rank is independent. Users book on their own and bring just the match info (players, result, etc.) into the app.

Integration with booking platforms is something interesting for further down the road. If you run a club and you're interested, write to us — feedback from managers helps us prioritize.

How much does it cost? Is there a PRO plan? FREE PRO · €4.99/mo

The free plan covers creating up to 2 leagues, inviting players, scoring on your phone, rankings and the table — without paying anything.

The PRO plan adds advanced features: watch app with voice (Apple Watch / Wear OS), unlimited venues, more leagues as owner, ELO simulator, advanced radar and badges. It's €4.99/month or €39.99/year (save 2 months). And when you create your account we activate PRO free for 2 months; when it ends, you decide whether to keep it or drop to FREE. Available now on the App Store and Google Play.

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Leagues and multi-league

02
Can I be in several leagues at the same time?

Yes. As an invited member you can be in unlimited leagues — every league you're invited to. As a creator (owner), you can have up to 2 leagues of your own on the free plan.

In Admin there's a My leagues section with all the ones you're part of, your role in each, and you switch between them with a tap.

Each league is independent: it has its own ELO, its own table, its own matches. If you play in "Monday Indoor" and in "My local club", your ELO is different in each because it depends on the rivals in that context.

How many leagues can I create on the free plan?

Up to 2 leagues as creator (owner) with all the basic features (scoring, rankings, table, watch, polls).

And if you're invited as a member to more, no limit — only the leagues you create count toward the cap, not the ones you're invited to.

If I go PRO and create more leagues, what happens to them if I go back to FREE?

You never lose any league. If you go back to FREE, all your leagues stay there and fully functional: you can view them, score matches and manage them just like before. Your leagues and data are never deleted.

The only change on FREE: you can't create new leagues until you have 2 or fewer as creator, and the PRO features (voice-enabled watch app, advanced analytics) switch off in your leagues.

About the creation quota: PRO lets you create up to 10 leagues. The welcome trial (2 months) unlocks every PRO feature, but the creation quota stays at 2 — so you never pile up leagues that would be left blocked when the trial ends.

What is ELO?

ELO is a number that measures your real playing level. It's the same system used in chess, adapted to padel: instead of you picking a category, your level is calculated automatically from your results.

Every player starts at 1000, and the number moves match by match depending on who you play against:

  • Beat someone with a higher ELO → you gain a lot.
  • Beat someone with a lower ELO → you gain little.
  • Losses work the other way around.

That way the ranking reflects your true level and doesn't inflate just from playing lots of weaker opponents. After each match you see your delta (+15, −22…) and, with PRO, you can simulate how much it'll rise or drop before you play. All the details in the rankings guide.

Is my ELO the same across every league?

No. ELO is local to each league, because it measures your level relative to the players in that league. The same player can be the leader in an amateur league and mid-table in a more competitive one.

Details on how ELO is calculated in the rankings guide.

I'm a club manager. How do I add members?

Today there are two ways from the Admin panel:

  • Manual (the quick one) · Admin → Players → "+ Add player". Just a name. Shows up in the roster and can join matches without having an account. Ideal to get going on day 1.
  • Email invite · Admin → Invitations → "+ Invite". They get an email/push, accept and get linked to their account so they can see their stats on their own phone.

For large groups (50+ members) we recommend a mix: register them manually first so nothing blocks the start, and then link accounts as each person installs the app.

Is there a public "join this league" link? YES!

Yes, it's available now. From Admin → Invitations, the admin generates a link like padelrank.pro/j/ABC123XY and shares it via WhatsApp, email or wherever.

Whoever opens the link requests to join (doesn't enter automatically) and the admin receives a push to approve or reject. No spam: nobody enters the league without your OK.

Useful extras:

  • Multiple links coexisting (one for members, another for occasional guests).
  • Optional expiration: 7 / 30 / 90 days or never.
  • Auto-approve by domain: if the email is @myclub.com, they enter directly without queue. Ideal for clubs with identified members.
  • Revocable at any time.
How do I move a league from local mode to the cloud?

If you created the league in local mode (without a Google sign-in) and later decide to Sign In, the app offers to migrate it automatically to the cloud. You keep all matches, players and settings.

Once it's in the cloud, you can invite members, sync across devices and use the collaborative features.

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Scoring and point-keeping

03
Do I have to call out every point during the whole match?

No. There are two modes depending on how immersed you want to be:

  • Final result (the most common) · When the match is over, you open the scoreboard or the pending match and enter the sets directly (6-4, 7-5). 5 seconds and done. ELO and the table recalculate instantly.
  • Watch + voice (PRO) · For people who want zero interruptions. Apple Watch or Wear OS, you say "Point Mike" or "Mistake Mike" and the watch adds the point and narrates. The other players see the synced score on their own watch.
Do I need a watch to use the app?

Not at all. The watch is optional. The vast majority of users just enter the final result from the phone, without touching anything during the match.

The watch is for people who want to record point by point without pulling out the phone, or so that everyone in the match can see the live score on their wrist.

And what happens if two players open the scoreboard at the same time?

The first one to open it becomes the match's official "scorer" (the one tracking points). The other players who also open the scoreboard come in as spectators: they see the score in real time but can't add points.

If the scorer closes the match or disconnects, another player can take over.

Which voice commands does the watch recognize?

The essentials for calling out padel (say the player's first name):

  • "Point [name]" · That pair wins the point with a winner.
  • "Pressure [name]" · Wins the point by forcing the rival's error.
  • "Fault [name]" · Loses the point on an unforced error (the opposing pair scores).
  • "Serve [name]" · Declares who is serving.
  • "Result" (or "How's it going?") · The watch reads out the current score.
  • "Undo" · Reverts the last point.

The first three feed the analysis's shot quality, which sorts every point into three types: Winners (you win it with a putaway shot), Pressure (you also win it, but by forcing the opponent's error with your pressure) and Errors (you lose it on your own unforced mistake). Green = points you win, red = points you lose. Don't confuse it with the match's pressure moments (40-40, set or match point): those measure when a big point is played, not how you win it. Works in 6 languages and recognizes natural variations.

Voice on my Wear OS watch is not working. Which permissions should I check?

On Wear OS, voice does not depend only on Padel Rank. The watch uses external Google services to turn speech into text, so voice can fail even when Padel Rank already has microphone permission.

Check these items on the watch:

  • Padel Rank → Permissions → Microphone allowed.
  • Google digital assistant → Permissions → Microphone allowed.
  • Google Play services → Permissions → Microphone allowed.
  • Speech Services by Google, if it appears on your watch → check the microphone there too.

From the watch app, open Help → Voice check. You will see the status for Padel Rank, the voice service and, on compatible watches, the Google apps involved. Tap each row to open its settings directly.

If you still see "Voice unavailable" or "Didn't catch that":

  • Update Padel Rank, Google, Assistant, Google Play services and Speech Services by Google from Play Store on the watch.
  • Make sure the recognition language is available. On some Wear OS watches you need to download the language pack; the check may show Download language when the system allows it.
  • Try watch dictation in any text field, for example in Messages. If dictation does not work there either, the issue is in the watch voice system, not Padel Rank.
  • Restart the watch after changing permissions or updating Google services.

Important: Android does not allow Padel Rank to grant permissions to Google apps for you. What we can do is detect them and take you to the right settings page.

Can I edit a match's result afterwards?

Yes. Any admin or editor of the league can edit the result at any time from the match list. On save, ELO and the table recalculate automatically from scratch — the app is consistent and auditable.

To delete a whole match you need to be an admin; editors can't delete (but they can clear the result to send it back to "Pending").

What happens with tied or unfinished matches?

If a match ends with tied sets (for example 1-1 with the third set unfinished), it doesn't count toward ELO, the table or Win Rate stats. It doesn't penalize anyone either.

It does count toward Time played (the minutes are real) and shows up as "T" (tie) in the player's recent results.

How do I create an open match and how do people join?

From Open → Create match. Pick day, time, venue, duration and format; if you set the court price, the app works out the cost per player on its own (price ÷ 4). Share it and each player joins by tapping a free spot on the card until the 4 are filled.

You can also launch an availability poll: people mark when they can play and the match fills itself, with no endless group chats.

What stats and analysis does it offer?

ELO standings and league ranking (singles and pairs). And if you score the match point by point, you unlock the advanced (PRO) analysis: momentum map, MVP, decisive moment, break and golden points, shot quality (winner / pressure / error) and time per set.

In your Stats tab you see your ELO progression and who you play best with: your win rate with each partner, respecting the season filter.

Can I follow a match live without playing it?

Yes, and it's free. A live match shows an eye icon on its card: any member can tap it and watch the score live (read-only), even if they're not playing.

You can also turn a tablet or phone into a giant scoreboard for the whole court with Court display. Just remember: only one person scores at a time, so the score doesn't get duplicated.

Can I score by voice without a watch, from the phone?

Yes. As well as the watch, the phone has a mic button (press and hold to talk) with the same commands. Great if you don't have a watch.

What match formats does it support?

At 40-40: golden point or advantage. And for the deciding set (1-1): super tie-break, golden set or a normal set. You choose it when creating the match.