Tournaments where players sign up alone — and rotate partners every round.

The social-mixer format, made for clubs. Players register individually; the system generates a round-robin schedule that pairs them with a different partner every round. Per-player standings feed an automatic playoff bracket. Built end-to-end with the same hardening discipline as Player Hub and Team Cup.

One pill flips the whole tournament

Open the tournament wizard. In the Default Format step, you've always picked a bracket type and a match format (Singles / Doubles / Mixed). A new Registration Mode row appears for Doubles + Mixed Doubles formats.

Pre-formed Team

Players sign up with their partner already chosen. The classic tournament flow.

Rotating Partners

Players register alone. The system pairs them with a different partner every round and tracks per-player standings.

How an organizer runs it

  1. Pick Rotating Partners in the wizard. The Default Bracket Type auto-flips to Round Robin (the only compatible format). Save the tournament.
  2. Players register solo. No partner picker — the registration overlay tells them "Individual registration — rotating partners. You'll partner with a different player each round."
  3. Close registration, generate the schedule. The divisions page surfaces an orange call-out: "Rotating-Partner Divisions — N divisions set to Individual rotating partners." Click Generate rotating schedule. The 1-factorization of Kn algorithm produces a partnership rotation that maximizes unique pairings.
  4. Run the matches. Each pool match has 4 participants (two dynamic pairs). Score is submitted as winning side + points; per-player standings update live.
  5. Generate the playoff. Once pool play completes, one click pairs the top finishers (high-low default) into stable teams and builds a single-elim bracket. Bracket plays out exactly like any other tournament.
  6. Crown a champion. Top-of-the-podium pair wins; per-player standings remain visible the whole way through.

What's built in

  • Wizard couples the choices for you. Picking Rotating Partners auto-flips bracket type to Round Robin and disables MLP / Team Captain — there's no way to misconfigure into an invalid combination.
  • Late registration is blocked once the schedule generates. The rotation table is built from the registered user list; adding a player post-generation would orphan them with no matches. The system tells the player "Registration is closed — the schedule has already been generated. Contact the organizer."
  • Audit page surfaces algorithm correctness. Conflicts (player in two simultaneous matches), partner duplications (same pair partnered twice), and opponent imbalance (court-overlap variance) are checked before the organizer publishes.
  • Per-player standings with W / L / PF / PA / Differential. Public division show page has a dedicated Standings tab. Last-initial only for minor-protection privacy parity.
  • Push notifications. Players get a push when the schedule is generated, when their court is assigned, and when a match is completed. Recipient resolution flows through tournament_match_participants for the rotating format — no team rows required.
  • One-click playoff generation. Default high-low pairing (top + bottom, second + second-from-bottom, etc.) builds stable playoff teams in one transaction. Custom seeding overrides supported.
  • Mobile parity. Bracket viewer renders the rotating schedule with partner-chip labels. Score entry uses the same winning_side API as web. Per-player standings on both platforms.
  • Acquirer-grade hardening. Full E2E spec walks creation → 8 registrations → schedule → score every match → standings → playoff → champion. 155+ specs covering API, mailer, badge evaluation, render-smoke, and full integration paths.

Why it matters

Most tournament tooling forces partner formation before registration. That kills your funnel — players who can't find a partner just don't register. The Rotating Partners format makes solo registration the default mode, which means:

  • Higher registration conversion. Every player who saw the listing can register. The "I'll register once I find a partner" tax disappears.
  • Built-in social value. In a 16-player division, a participant plays with 15 different partners. Every event becomes a community-building moment.
  • Skill development. Players are exposed to many playing styles in a single afternoon — the highest-value learning format short of formal coaching.
  • Same recurring playbook. Run a Friday-night Rotating Partners mixer every week. The schedule generator handles the heavy lift; you collect entries and pour beer.

Available on every plan

Rotating Partners ships free for every tournament — no tier gate. Wizard pill, mobile parity, full hardening — ready today.

Start a Rotating Partners tournament →