Organising a tennis tournament is a week of work.Or an afternoon.
Five draws, a hundred entries, eight courts and seven days. That is the puzzle an open tournament sets, and it is exactly the kind of puzzle a computer solves faster than a committee on a Monday evening.
Everything a tennis tournament needs
From the first entry to the last result in one registration system: no entry list in a spreadsheet and no playing schedule on a flip chart.
Draws and entries
- Men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed
- Its own entry fee, capacity and closing date per event
- Categories by age, gender and level, so 17+ and 35+ can sit side by side
- Doubles partners confirm themselves through their own link
- A waiting list the moment an event is full
- Withdrawals and transfers without redoing the paperwork
Draw and schedule
- A bracket, pools, pools into a knockout, or a double elimination draw
- Seeding proposed from ratings, for the committee to adjust
- A consolation round fed from whichever round you choose
- Courts and playing times per event, stage or round
- Several days and several venues inside one tournament
- Clashes in the schedule are flagged before you publish
Scoring and results
- Best of three, best of five, short sets to four, or a pro set to eight games
- A deciding point at deuce where your club plays no advantage
- Set scores entered courtside and visible straight away
- Winners advance to the next round by themselves
- Pool tables with a tiebreak order you set yourself
- Corrections stay visible in the log
Which parts your club gets depends on your plan. The pricing page sets out what each one includes.
And if you just want to play
An entrant has three questions. These are the answers.
What can I enter?
Every tournament lists its events, who each one is for, what it costs and when entries close. Filter by town and date until something is left that fits your diary.
Who am I playing doubles with?
You name your partner and they confirm for themselves. Until they do, the entry sits at pending, and you can both see that.
When do I need to be there?
Once the draw is made you see each match with its day, time, court and opponent. Over a week-long tournament that means no refreshing the site: if something moves, you are told.
Tennis tournament questions
Can we run a consolation draw?+
Yes. You say from which round losers drop into a second draw, and that draw is built by the same engine that drew the first one. Somebody knocked out on day one still gets a second match.
How does seeding work?+
PlayTour proposes seeds from the ratings known on the entries. The referee looks it over and changes what needs changing, so the computer draws and the committee decides.
Our club championships are members only. Will they show up in search?+
Only if you want them to. A tournament is either listed publicly or reachable only through the link or the invitation code you share. In the second case it appears in no list, and entries work exactly the same way.
It is raining. Can I move the schedule?+
You can. Move the matches, publish the updated schedule and everybody involved is notified. Results already in stay as they are, and so do the standings that follow from them.
Set your tennis tournament up before entries open
A free account, your events laid out, publish. The rest of the week goes on the courts instead of the admin. Publishing and taking entries are part of the free plan; the draw, the playing schedule and live results come with a paid plan.