Some leagues are doubles — you play and climb as a pair, sharing one spot on the ladder. Here's how partnering up works.
Joining as a pair. When you join a doubles league you can add your partner's name (and email, so they get their own sign-in). The pair holds a single ladder position, and challenges, results and ratings all count for the two of you together.
Free agents. Don't have a partner yet? You can join as a free agent — a solo player looking for a doubles partner. You'll show on the league as available to pair up, and any other free agent (or an organiser) can team up with you. Once you're paired, you become a normal doubles entry with a shared spot.
Injured or away? Set yourself to away / injured and you'll stop being shown as looking for a partner — no partner requests, and you won't come up in the partner swipe deck — until you're back. You're still listed in the league, just marked as away, so nobody wastes a request on you while you can't play.
Leaving a doubles league. Whoever stays keeps the spot: if you set the team up, your partner takes over the position and record and goes back to being a free agent; if you're the partner, they keep it. Nobody ever loses a place they didn't choose to give up. See Leaving a league (or just taking a break).
Partner requests. Want to team up with a specific person? Send them a partner request. They get a notification and, once they accept, you're paired and take your place on the ladder together. If someone requests you and it's not a fit, you can simply decline — no hard feelings, no penalty.
Playing and results. Doubles challenges and results work exactly like singles — challenge a pair above you, log the set-by-set score, and the winning pair takes the losing pair's spot (the losers drop one place). Both partners get the win or loss on their record.
Changing partners. Life happens — injuries, holidays, house moves. If your partner can't play any more, you can swap in a new one yourself: on the league page, look for "Partner can't make it any more? Change your partner" under the standings. Either half of the pair can do this — it doesn't matter who set the team up. Pick a club member and they'll get a request to accept — your current pair stays as it is until they say yes, and you can cancel the request any time. Quicker still: on the Looking for a partner board under the standings, every free agent has an "Ask to swap in" button — same request, one tap. Adding someone who's not on Tennis Ladder yet? Type their name and email and they'll get an invite. Either way the pair keeps its ladder spot and record — only the person changes — and whoever you replaced is told about the new line-up (they can't block it, just as you couldn't block them). Mid-season swaps cost the pair two rungs; the first fortnight of a new season is free. Your league's organiser can always adjust pairs and positions too if something needs fixing.
Partner away for one match? Use a sub. No need to change partners because someone's on holiday. On any accepted doubles fixture, next to the time and court, tap "Partner away? Use a sub" and pick a club member to stand in for that match only. Either half of the pair can nominate. The stand-in must be an adult club member who isn't in a pair of their own or on the other side, with a doubles rating close to the person they're replacing (within 100 points) — that cap keeps it fair, so your opponents are told rather than asked. The match still counts for your pair's position and record; the sub gets rating credit for the match, and your absent partner's rating doesn't move. Changed plans? The same button lets you change the sub, right up until the result is logged.
Not sure whether your league is singles or doubles? It's shown on the league page, right under the name.
Partner away for a while?
Three options, from lightest to heaviest:
- One match: on the fixture (Your Serve), tap Partner away? Use a sub and pick a clubmate. That match only. The result still counts for your pair's rung.
- A few weeks: on your league page, tap Partner away for a while? Pick who's away, the date they're back, and who stands in. Every fixture in that window fills them in for you; you can still flip any single match back on the fixture (the weekends they're about, say). Your pair keeps its rung and record, your partner keeps their place. Tap End on the same row when they're back early.
- For good: Change your partner — a mid-season swap costs your pair two rungs.
Stand-ins have to be a fair swap: an adult clubmate without a pair in that league, rated close to the person they're covering. Pickup guests can't stand in.