Pickleball Swiss tournament generator

A Swiss tournament pairs teams with the same record each round, never repeats a match-up and never eliminates anyone. It ranks a big field in a handful of rounds, which is why chess has used it for a century. For pickleball it is the best format when you have more teams than time.

How many rounds?

How the generator pairs each round

1. Round 1 is paired at random, or by rating if you enter ratings.
2. After that, teams are sorted by wins, then point difference, and neighbours play each other.
3. If two neighbours have already met, the pairer swaps to the closest team they have not played.
4. An odd field gives one team a bye each round, taken from the lower half by a team that has not had one yet.

Because the pairing depends on results, a Swiss can't be printed in advance: each round is made when the previous one finishes. That is exactly what the app does, in about a second, even for 40 teams.

Swiss or round robin?

Up to about 8 teams, a round robin is fairer and still fits an evening. From 10 teams up, a Swiss gets you a winner and a full ranking in a third of the rounds. The Swiss guide goes through byes, tiebreaks and timing.

Questions