Define americano

Concept

An americano is an unusual type of padel tournament composed of many rounds wherein each player plays with a new partner in each round.

Rounds and scoring

There are no sets or games in an americano. Rounds are played of a certain amount of points, so instead of playing to a certain number of points, the round is made up of a prescribed number of points, often 32. So for an americano of 32 points, potential scores in a round would be 16-16 or 18-14. The partners would both get the score they achieved together for that round. Players should note their score in each round.

How do you win an americano

After all rounds are played, each player tallies up their scores from all of their rounds, and the player with the highest number of points wins the americano.

Participants

It is best if the number of participants should be divisible by 4, otherwise there will be some players on break during the rounds.

Serving

As there are no games, the server rotates every 4 points.

Pros and cons of running an americano

Pros

• Energizing with constant newness of partners and opponents
• Social as you get to play with many partners at one time

Cons

• Hectic running to and from courts during the rounds
• Requires organization to set up the rounds and communicate who plays whom, where and when
• Focus can be lost when you are only playing short rounds

Tips for running your own

Setting up rounds

If you want help setting up the rounds, you can put the players' names into the app, Padel Fast, and it will organize the rounds  for you.

Keeping score

Consider bringing a white board to the court to communicate who was playing whom in each round. Players were then able to note their scores. Also bringing print outs of the round and court assignments.

How much time do you need?

A recent 24 point americano lasted about an hour and a half. Try that or playing to 32 points for a 2 hour americano.

Good luck and enjoy running your own americano!