Pickleball round robin for 5 players on one court
The short answer: five players share one court over five rounds, and a different player rests each round. Over the event everyone partners every other player exactly once, plays against every other player exactly twice, and sits out exactly once. It is one of the few “uneven” group sizes that comes out perfectly fair.
The schedule
Letters A to E stand for your five players. Type their names below and the table updates.
| Round | Sits out | Court 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | B + C vs D + EScore: ____ – ____ |
| 2 | B | A + D vs C + EScore: ____ – ____ |
| 3 | C | A + E vs B + DScore: ____ – ____ |
| 4 | D | A + C vs B + EScore: ____ – ____ |
| 5 | E | A + B vs C + DScore: ____ – ____ |
How to run it
- Give each player a letter. The player named in “Sits out” watches that round (and can keep the score).
- The other four play on the court, using the pairings shown.
- Use the same scoring rule for every game. With only one court, short games keep everyone involved: a fixed total (say 16) or a game to 7 or 11 works well.
- Add up each player’s points across their four games. The highest total wins, and point difference breaks ties.
Why it works
- Each of the five rounds uses 4 of the 5 players, so each player plays 4 games and rests once.
- Across the five rounds, each pair of players is on the same team exactly once.
- Each pair of players meets as opponents exactly twice.
Because everyone plays the same number of games, the totals are directly comparable, so no projection or adjustment is needed. We checked all of this by computer before publishing.
More than 5 players?
With a second court you are into eight-player territory: here is the 8-player schedule. For other sizes, see the formats and scoring guide, or let Smash! Pickleball Manager plan it for you.