The whole point is to get you on court more often. Here's how to line up your next match — singles or doubles.
Locked courts? Padlock and keypad codes live in Clubhouse → Club info → Getting on court — members only, tap Reveal to see a code. Every fixture sheet has a Court access button too, and your day-before match reminder email carries the codes, so you're never stuck at the gate.
The Play tab. Tap Play in the bottom bar for every way to get a game. The buttons along the top take you to Challenge (who you can challenge right now, on every ladder you're in), Pickup doubles, Singles (friendly games), Enter (leagues and tournaments you can join right now, plus a box for a private league's code) and Players. You only see the ones you can use: juniors don't see Pickup or Singles, which are for adults.
Who you can challenge. On a ladder you challenge players above you, within the league's range (usually up to 3 places up). Tap Challenge on any eligible player and they'll get a notification to arrange the match. In a box league you play everyone in your box, any direction — no range to worry about.
Players. Tap Play, then Players at the top, to browse everyone at your club. See their rating, whether they're around right now, and tap anyone to open a quick menu — Challenge them on a ladder, arrange a Friendly, log a game, favourite them, or get in touch by WhatsApp or email (when they've shared those). An "up for a game" row surfaces the players who are online or free right now.
Friendly games. Open Play → Singles (it's also under Your Serve → Friendly games). There are two clear choices: Invite a player opens the club directory, where you can choose someone and suggest up to three times; Post an open game lets you name an opponent or leave the seat Open for any eligible adult member to claim. You can add a time and court, and make an open post repeat weekly. Friendly games build your singles rating but never touch your ladder position. (A ranked singles match is still the normal in-range ladder challenge.)
Big gap in levels? Tap ⚖️ Add a handicap on the invite — one of you starts every game 15, 30 or 40 up (tie-breaks stay level). A handicap friendly is just for fun: unlike a normal friendly it won't move either player's rating, so it's the zero-stakes way to get a proper game against someone far above or below you. The head start is stated on the invite; accepting it is the agreement, and the result always carries the ⚖️ tag.
For doubles, use Play → Pickup doubles. That is the shared doubles route and feeds the doubles rating, monthly standings and Finals Night.
Both at the courts right now? Tap ⚡ Play now when sending a challenge or friendly — it fills in the current time, the other player accepts on the spot, and you're away. (Times in the past can't be picked.)
A friendly that didn't get logged. The day after the agreed time you'll get a "Did you play?" — log the score from the fixture on Your Serve. If it still isn't logged three days after the agreed time (or three weeks after accepting, if you never set a time), the friendly is cleared and you're both told. Played it after all? Open the other player's profile, tap ⋯ → Log result and choose Friendly.
Who wins? and the odds
Every upcoming fixture has a Who wins? pick. Under each side you'll see the club's share of the picks and a decimal price such as F 1.60 — the F marks the favourite. The price blends the club's votes with current form so a handful of picks can't swing it wildly. It's for fun and for the Predictor board only: nothing is ever staked, and Court Coins can't be wagered. Ladder matches, doubles fixtures, Pickup Doubles fours and tournament winners all count towards your Predictor record.
Pickup Doubles
Four players, two a side. Most of the time you'll simply pick your people: the three you're standing on court with, or the three you've agreed a time with. No partner? No problem — open the seats and the club fills them, with teams balanced by rating.
Open Play → Pickup doubles. Getting a game is one button — ⚡ Play now — and two quick choices:
- Who's playing? My three — pick the people you're playing with — or Open seats, which opens the game for the club to join (set who's allowed in: open to all, or a level band).
- When? Now, or Pick a time — type it the way you'd say it ("tonight 7pm", "tomorrow 6", "Friday 7pm").
- Court (optional) — pick one of the club's courts, or leave it as any court. Everyone sees it in their notification, and Time & court on the game card changes it later. Confirmed fours get a reminder the day before, the same as a ladder match.
Playing now with your three, the game starts immediately: nothing to accept, log the score when you're done, and everyone you pick gets a heads-up (they can swap out if it wasn't them).
Picking your own four with mixed levels? Tap ⚖️ Add a handicap and one side starts every game 15, 30 or 40 up (tie-breaks stay level). Everyone sees the head start on their invite and consents by accepting their seat. Handicap games count for pickup points and the Monthly Race but never touch anyone's doubles rating — and if the giving pair wins anyway, both earn the 🎩 Class Act bonus. Open seats + now asks the club — the first three to say yes are in. Timed games with open seats can Repeat weekly as a standing game.
Bringing a guest. A friend from another club coming down for a game? In the seat picker, tap Bring a guest and add their name, and optionally their email, mobile and their club. They're in the four straight away (their seat is a yes already — you vouch for them), they don't need an account, and they get one email with the details. If your club charges visiting players a fee, it's shown to you and in the guest's email (organisers set it under Settings → Guest fee). Guests are remembered, so next time they're one tap from the list. They play and earn a doubles rating, but never take the Monthly Race, a crown, or a place in the Players list. Two guests per four at most. Adults only. Got a guest's details wrong (a typo, or the wrong club)? Ask an organiser: they can fix a guest's name, email, mobile and club under Admin → Players → Club members.
Let games come to you (optional). Underneath the Play button you can tap the times you could usually play — a normal week, not real dates. When four of you are free at the same time we build the game and ask all four to confirm. It's not a commitment: say no any time and we find someone else. Going away? Set yourself away on your profile and we stop asking until you're back. You can also choose who we put you with: anyone, similar level, or very close (closer levels give better games, but fewer of them).
The full rules live in the app — the Rules link at the bottom of the Pickup page. Standings & results sits next to it.
The rules
- Four players, two a side, no fixed partner — you'll play with different people every time.
- Named games play as you picked them. For open games, we pick the teams, balanced by your individual doubles rating, so the game is as close as we can make it. New to doubles? Your first rating is seeded from your ladder points, so your first game is a fair one.
- Your club sets the format — one set (the default), Fast4, or the same two sets plus a 10-point tiebreak your ladder uses. It's shown in the Rules tab of Pickup Doubles, and the score entry matches it. Organisers change it under Admin → Club settings → Pickup Doubles format.
- Anyone of the four logs who won, entering the score set by set. The score is optional; who won is what counts.
- Your Doubles rating starts at 1000, rises after wins and falls after losses. It is separate from the Singles rating on your profile and it never changes your ladder position.
- Court Coins never go down: every Pickup result earns 2 for playing plus one coin for each game you won. Entering the score matters; without one, you still receive the 2 playing coins.
- Giant-killer 🗡️ — if your pair's average rating is well below the other pair's and you win, both of you bank bonus coins: +1 per 50 rating points of gap, up to +5.
- Can't make a game you said yes to? Tap "Can't make it" — we refill your seat and there's no penalty.
- Adults only for now.
Something to play for. Every win counts in the monthly standings — most wins in a month takes Doubles Champion of the Month. Each quarter, the top four play 🏆 Finals Night: three rounds where you partner each of the other three once and face everyone twice, and most games won takes the Quarterly Doubles Champion badge into the Hall of Fame. Fifth to eighth are reserves — if a qualifier can't make it, the next reserve gets the seat.
Ladder vs friendly. A challenge counts on the ladder — win and you can take the higher player's spot. A friendly is pure play: it builds your rating (skill is skill, win or lose) and earns Chase the Pros coins, but it never touches your ladder position, your W–L record, your Court Coins or your badges — so nobody ever needs to duck a friendly to protect a record. Play higher than your range with a ⚡ wildcard when your league allows it.
Take the crown. See a 👑 next to the player at the top? That's the current number one. If they're in your range, you'll get a "take the crown" prompt — beat them and the crown (and top spot) is yours, plus a +5 Court Coin bounty.
Show you're up for it. Your status lives on your profile — tap your avatar (top right) to open it. Free to play (the default) means others can see you're available and challenge you. Going on holiday or carrying a knock? Switch to Away / injured there to pause challenges until you're back. (If your league has the inactivity slide enabled, being Away also protects you from slipping down for a long absence.)
Favourites. Tap the ♥ on a player to add them to your favourites so they pin to the top of Players — handy for keeping the people you play most (and your rivals) close to hand.
How many challenges at once. You can have up to four matches on the go, but only two can be challenges you've sent — finish or cancel one before sending a third. The other two slots are kept for players below challenging you, so everyone can climb and everyone can be caught. Once a player has 4 matches on the go in total, new challenges to them wait until one resolves. A match stops counting two days after its date even if nobody has logged the score yet, and matches are booked within 14 days, so slots free up quickly. If you're at two, the app tells you which two and when they're booked.