You've claimed your club (or been made owner) — here's how to get people playing. It takes a few minutes and everything's free.
Open the Organiser area
Tap the organiser icon at the top of the screen, next to your messages (it appears once you're an owner or admin, with a count of any join requests waiting). It's also the top row of More, and on a computer it's Organiser at the top right. This is your control room: leagues, players, courts, results and settings, all in one place.
Create your first league
The quickest way: open Comps — as an owner or admin you'll see Get your club live (a four-step checklist) at the top, and ＋ New league and ＋ New tournament right under the page title. Each opens the create form with that kind already picked. It's the same place as Organiser → Competitions → + Create. Give it a name and pick the essentials on one card:
- Name — if another active league at the club already has that name, the form says so and offers a distinct one (like "Junior Singles — Autumn 2026") in one tap, so players can tell them apart.
- Who plays — Men's, Women's, Mixed or Open; adults or juniors. For a junior league you can also set the ball: red, orange, green or yellow.
- Format — the type of competition:
- Ladder — the classic. Everyone has a rank; challenge someone above you, win, and take their spot. Great for ongoing, self-driven play.
- Box league — small groups ("boxes") of 4–8 (or everyone in one box) who all play each other over a round; winners move up a box next round. Ideal for club nights and fairer, sociable matches.
- Tournament — a one-off knockout or round-robin draw with a champion at the end.
- Singles or doubles — either works for any format.
- Who can find it — Public (listed on your club page, anyone can join) or Private (invite-only via a code/link — perfect for a friendly group or a trial).
- Scoring & rules — sets, tiebreaks, challenge range, how long players have to respond. Sensible defaults are pre-filled; change them only if you want to.
Tap Create and you land straight on your league's share screen — the join link, a QR code and a copy button, ready to drop into your WhatsApp group. Rather type people in yourself? Tap Add players yourself on the same screen. We also email you the link so it's always to hand.
Get people in
- Share the join link or QR — from the share screen right after creating, from the ⋯ menu on the league card ("Invite a player" works before the league has started — recruit first, launch later), or any time from Organiser → Invites & links. Players sign themselves up in a tap — no typing names or emails.
- Add players directly — Organiser → Players → Add, by name or email. Email invites let them sign in and link automatically.
- Remind everyone — the "✉️ Remind all" button chases anyone who hasn't signed in yet.
- When a few are in, hit Start league — everyone gets the launch announcement by email and push, and the challenges begin.
Keep it running
- Results confirm themselves between players; you can fix a score or reverse a walkover from Organiser → Results.
- Co-managers — share the load. Two roles, both scoped to YOUR club only: a Club admin has full control (create leagues, featured matches, settings, admins — a club captain, say), while a League manager runs only the ladders you assign them. Add either from Organiser → Admins with their email: they get a sign-in invite straight away and sign in as themselves (email link, Apple, Google or Microsoft; no passwords). You can also grant admin from the players list. Nobody you add can ever touch another club.
- Club night — run a social mix-in evening with automatic fair pairings and live standings (More → Club night).
Stuck on anything? Tap More → Help & support and message us — we're quick.
Have an idea for Tennis Ladder itself? Tap More → Ideas & feedback. Feature suggestions and private problem reports have separate paths, so requests are easy to review without publishing account, club, match or junior information.
Ending a season
Set season dates in League details and members see a countdown; they get a nudge a month, a week and a day out. The day after it ends you get an email (and a banner at the top of League details) to wrap it up.
End the season (League details → End the season) shows you what will happen before it does:
- Champion — the current #1, crowned into the Hall of Fame with a push, an email and a printable certificate.
- Honours — Most improved, Iron player, Giant killer and Oracle of the season are awarded automatically where earned, each with an email and certificate.
- Season name — defaults to the dates; name it if you like ("Summer 2026").
- Positions next season — Keep positions (singles default: a season is a chapter, not a reset) or Reseed by rating. Doubles pairs reseed by their players' doubles ratings by default, with partner swaps free for two weeks.
- Next season — same length starting today, a date you pick, or open-ended.
Everyone on the ladder gets one push with the crowns and what the new season means for them. W/L and open challenges reset, except a match that's already agreed and booked for a later date: that carries into the new season. Every match ever played stays on each player's profile.
Recording a result for two members
Two members played but neither can log it — a coach-run junior ladder, a championship final that counts, a member without a login? Organiser → that league → Record a result: pick the winner and loser, enter the score in the league's format, set the date. It saves as confirmed, moves positions like any other result, and both players are told.
Marking a one-off result
Did a club championship final, a charity day or a grudge rematch double up as a ladder match? Organiser → Results → Edit on that result → Occasion. Type a label such as "🏆 Club Championship Final" and it shows as a gold chip on the result card for everyone. It's a label only — positions, points and ratings are exactly as the match already counted.
Padlock codes and getting on court
Members always ask "what's the padlock?" — so give the app the answer once. Under Organiser → Club settings → Court access & codes, tap the courts a code opens, give it a short label ("Padlock", "Keypad") and type the code — it reads "Courts 4–8 · Padlock" to members. Notes with no courts picked are general ("Lock up if no one is waiting"). Leave Hide until tapped on for codes (members tap Reveal to see them) and off for plain notes.
They're members only — never on public pages. Members find them in Clubhouse → Club info, by tapping a court on the Courts tab, on the Court access button of every fixture (their court first), and in their day-before match reminder email. Change a code and every member sees the new one straight away.