Padel Americano and Mexicano glossary
Every word you will hear while hosting a padel Americano or Mexicano, each in one or two plain sentences, with links to the guides that go further. Read it before your first night, or keep it open for when a player asks what a sit-out credit or a tie-breaker is.
Americano: A social padel format for four or more players. Partners change every round, each player keeps their side's points, and the most points wins. See what is a padel Americano.
Court: Holds four players, two a side. The courts you book set how many play at once.
Draw: Who plays with and against whom, and on which court, each round. An Americano draws every round before the first ball; a Mexicano draws each round from the standings.
Fixed pairs (Team Americano): Partners stay together all night and only the opponents rotate. Pairs are ranked, not individuals. See Team Americano.
Games scoring: The alternative to rally points. A match goes to the first side to win a set number of games, and the standings add up games won.
Group A and Group B: The two groups in a Mixed Americano, usually women and men.
Knockout: Optional games after the last round: a final for the top four (1st and 3rd against 2nd and 4th), or semi-finals and quarter-finals for bigger groups. See a final after the Americano.
Late joiner: Someone who arrives after the first round has started. They sit out the round on court, play from the next one and get sit-out credit for the rounds already played. See late arrivals and no-shows.
Live link: A web address where anyone can follow the standings and the current round in a browser, with nothing to install. Padelato gives every tournament one the moment it starts.
Mexicano: Round 1 is drawn at random and every later round from the standings: on court 1 the 1st and 4th play the 2nd and 3rd, and so on down the table. See what is a padel Mexicano.
Mixed Americano: Partners rotate, but every pair has one player from each group. See Mixed Americano.
Partner repeat: Two players partnering a second time. A good draw avoids it until the number of rounds forces it. See repeated partners.
Planned rounds: How many rounds the evening has. An Americano draws them all up front, and you can add or remove any not yet played.
Point difference: Points scored minus points conceded, over all your matches. The usual second tie-breaker.
Points per match: In rally scoring, the total the two scores add up to when a match ends, most often 24. See Americano scoring.
Provisional round: A future Americano round that is drawn but can still change. Add or remove a player and these are redrawn; the round on court stays as it is.
Rally points: The usual Americano scoring: every rally is one point, up to a fixed total, with results like 14-10.
Re-draw: Drawing the round on court again before any of its scores are in, for example so a latecomer can play it.
Rest (sit-out): A round spent off court because the group does not divide into fours. Fair draws spread rests evenly and never rest anyone twice in a row while the numbers allow it. See who sits out.
Round: One match per court, all played at the same time. Partners change after each.
Seeding: Placing players by level rather than at random. Americano draws are usually random; a knockout is seeded from the standings.
Serve block: The points one player serves before the serve crosses the net, commonly four in a 24-point match. See serving rules.
Sit-out credit: What a resting player gets for a round they did not play: nothing, half a match, or their own average per match. It is added once the round is finished.
Standings: Every player's total points, matches played, wins and point difference, in rank order.
Tie-breaker: Separates players level on points: first point difference, then wins. See standings and tie-breakers.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Americano and Mexicano in one sentence?
In an Americano the whole schedule is drawn before you start and partners rotate by plan; in a Mexicano every round after the first is drawn from the standings, so you play people near your level.
What does "sit out" mean in a padel Americano?
A player sits out when the group does not divide into fours, so there is no court for them that round. A fair draw spreads the rests evenly and never rests the same player twice in a row while the numbers allow it.
What is a tie-breaker in Americano standings?
When two players finish on the same points, the one with the better point difference ranks higher. If that is level too, the player with more wins ranks higher.