Frequently asked questions

What kinds of tournament formats does TPickle support?

Hybrid, pools to bracket: teams are split into round-robin pools, and the top teams from each pool (you choose how many) advance to a single-elimination playoff with semifinals and a final. This is the most common club format.

Round robin: every team plays every other team once, and final standings rank by wins with your chosen tiebreaker. No knockout stage, so it is great for smaller fields.

Bracket: a straight knockout, either single elimination or double elimination (double adds a second-chance bracket for first-round losers and a championship).

Shuffle: players enter as individuals and partners rotate every game, in groups of 4 or 8. The leaderboard counts each player's wins across all rounds, which makes it perfect for social nights and establishing ratings.

Every format works for pickleball, tennis, padel, or badminton, in doubles or singles (shuffle is doubles only). You also pick the scoring per round: one game to 11, 15, or 21, best 2 of 3 games, or set-based formats, plus optional consolation games so every team is guaranteed a minimum number of games.

What are the different roles for tournaments in the app?

Organizer: the account holder who runs the event. Organizers configure everything in the setup wizard (format, schedule, scoring, players, branding), generate the draw, take the tournament live, enter scores, run court timers, assign courts, moderate the Tournament Tea fan wall, and share links. The organizer is the only role that can change settings or reopen a completed tournament.

Scorekeeper: a helper who scores courtside with no account needed. The organizer shares a secret scorekeeper link; with it, a scorekeeper can confirm player names during setup, take the tournament live, enter scores and run timers while it is live, and mark it complete. Scorekeepers cannot change tournament settings, move matches between courts, or edit anything after the tournament completes.

Viewer: anyone with the public scoreboard link, no sign-in required. Viewers follow the live scoreboard on their phones: scores, court timers, standings, and the bracket, and they can tap a player's name to highlight their matches. Viewers can also cheer and ask questions on the Tournament Tea wall and see the recap when the event wraps.