A ladder ranks everyone in your league. Beat someone above you and you take their spot — lose and you stay put. Simple, and every match matters.
Challenging. Tap Challenge on any player within range above you (most ladders let you challenge up to 3 places up). They get a notification and you arrange the match between you — the app can suggest courts and times if your club has them set up.
Your range always reaches real opponents. Players who can't take a challenge right now — they're away/injured, haven't played their first match yet, or already have a full match diary — don't use up your range. Your reach simply looks past them, so "3 places up" means the nearest 3 players who could actually accept. You'll never be locked out of the ladder just because the people directly above you are unavailable.
What happens when you win. Beat someone above you and you move up to their spot; they drop one place, and anyone you jumped shifts down a place too. Nobody else moves. If you lose, nothing changes — so there's never a reason not to challenge up. (This is the classic "leapfrog" ladder used by most clubs.)
Overlapping challenges. You can have up to two challenges you've made on the go at once (finish one before starting a third), and positions only change when a result is confirmed — never when a challenge is made. So the swap always uses live positions at the moment your match is confirmed. If the person you challenged climbs before you play, you're challenging their current (higher) spot; and if someone below you beats you after you've climbed, they take the spot you hold at that moment — and you only ever slip one place. Results are applied in the order they're confirmed.
Busy players — join the queue. Popular players can rack up several matches at once, so the ladder shows a 🎾 N booked tag on anyone who already has matches lined up — on the standings and in the challenge picker (tap it to see their queue). A player can have 4 matches on the go, and no more than 2 of them challenges they've sent — so at least two slots are always open for players below to challenge them. Beyond that, new challenges wait until one resolves, so nobody can be buried in deadlines by a pile-on (a ⚡ wildcard always gets through). A match whose date has passed without a result stops counting two days after its date, so a game you played but haven't logged yet never keeps you from challenging again (do log it, though: it's cleared a week after its date). A player with a full diary shows 🎾 diary full and doesn't block your reach — your range skips past them to the next player who's free. Accepting a challenge protects you from the answer clocks below — though repeatedly cancelling an agreed match still counts as a postpone, and past your postpones it's a walkover.
Defending your spot. When someone below challenges you, answer within your league's answer window (5 days unless your organiser has set otherwise — the challenge card shows your reply-by date) — accept it or postpone it. Life happens, so you can postpone a few times to find a slot that suits you both — up to 3 on any one challenge, and no more than 3 in any 30 days across all your matches (organisers can change both). A postpone is any decline, a cancelled agreed match, or a week ignoring times the other player suggested. Ignore the challenge, or dodge again once your postpones are spent — on that challenge or for the month — and it's awarded as a walkover: your challenger climbs (into your spot if they're within range, otherwise up to their challenge range) and you slip one place (more if it isn't your first this season — see below). The app shows how many postpones you have left right on the challenge card, and the Postpone button says what it'll cost before you tap. Changed your mind in the same sitting? Postponing and cancelling again on the same day only ever costs one. (There's a hard 14-day limit on answering a challenge you've never accepted, from when it was made — postponing won't stretch it. Once you've accepted, the weekly set-a-date clock takes over.) Once you accept, set a date within 7 days. If the other player suggested times and you never answered, that week costs you a postpone. If nobody suggested anything, the first time the match simply goes back to needing an answer — no charge (you'll both get a reminder at day 5; either of you can set the time, and doing so stops the clock). Accept again and stay silent for a second week and that one does cost a postpone — accepting is a promise to arrange. Once a date is agreed, turn up. After the agreed time the fixture card asks "Did you play?" — tap Log result to record the score. (Logging it a day or two late? Set Played on to the day you actually played — up to two weeks back — so it lands on the right day in your history and ratings.) Logged it by mistake? Tap Undo on the result (or your opponent taps Didn’t happen) and the match goes straight back on Your Serve, exactly as it was. Didn't get played? The small link underneath covers it: it didn't happen (the fixture frees up so you can rearrange, no penalty), or they didn't turn up. If your opponent says you didn't turn up, you have 48 hours to answer: tap Reply, then I was there and nobody is penalised (the slot is freed and you both pick a new time), or I missed it — or say nothing — and it's a walkover, whatever postpones you have left. Cancelling ahead of time gives your opponent their evening back and only uses a postpone; an empty court doesn't. Organisers can reverse a walkover made in error. A match whose date has passed with no result is cleared a week after that date (a match with no date: after 21 days), no penalty either way, and both players are told. Still arranging it? Suggesting a new time in the app restarts those 21 days (up to 42 days in all), so a match you're actively rescheduling isn't cleared from under you. Three days before a match would be cleared, you both get a heads-up, so it never just vanishes. This keeps the top of the table earned, not just held. Genuinely away for a holiday or injury? Tap your avatar (top right) to open your profile and switch to Away / injured — nobody can challenge you (see below), and that's the way to take time off, not letting a challenge lapse. Wildcard challenges are the exception while they're waiting on you: they're out of range, so you can always decline one with no penalty. Accept one and agree a time, though, and it's a match like any other — not turning up is a walkover.
Repeat walkovers cost more. The first walkover against you in a season drops you one place, as it always has. A second drops you two, and a third or any after that drops you five. You're told before it steps up — the message for your second says what the next one would cost — and the count resets every season, so it never follows you around forever. It can't drop you past the bottom of the ladder, and time marked Away / injured doesn't count against you: you can't be challenged while you're away, so you can't collect these.
A few fairness rules around walkovers:
- You'll get a heads-up first. A push and an email land a couple of days before an unanswered challenge would become a walkover — nobody gets blindsided.
- Brand-new players are protected — for three weeks. If you've been added to a ladder but haven't played your first match yet (maybe you haven't even signed in), nothing goes on your record: no walkover can be recorded against you. For your first three weeks your spot is safe too. After that, ignoring a challenge past the deadline means the challenger takes your position (you drop one place) — still nothing on anyone's record, and you'll get the same heads-up warning first. Your first game switches the normal rules on.
- We have to be able to reach you. If the app has no way to reach a player — no email address (or guardian's email), no app, and they've never signed in — a deadline can't count against them: the challenge is simply cleared, nobody moves, and the club organiser is asked to add their details. The same goes for a result they never confirmed: it waits for the organiser.
- Rested after repeated walkovers. Concede three walkovers in a row without playing a match (your organiser can make it two or five, or switch it off) and you're set to Away, so nobody wastes a challenge on you. Any challenges waiting for you are cleared, no penalty either way. While you're away you'll slide down slowly, like anyone who isn't playing. When you're ready, tap I'm back on Your Serve (or play a match) and you're straight back on the ladder.
- Made in error? Club organisers can reverse a walkover — positions and records are restored exactly. Ask your organiser.
Arranging the match. Pick a date within the next 14 days (sooner if your league's match deadline is shorter) and before the season ends. The time picker shows the last day you can choose ("Play by …"). Booking close keeps the ladder moving: a match holds a slot in both your diaries until it's played.
Climbs need both of you. You can log a result against anyone, and it always counts for your record. But a result without a challenge behind it, or one your opponent never confirms (it confirms itself after a few days), only lifts you up to your challenge range. To take someone's spot outright, challenge them and have the result confirmed.
Walkovers. If someone ignores your challenge or runs out of postpones, you win by walkover. A walkover lifts you at most your challenge range (3 places on most ladders). Any climb nobody played out — a walkover, taking the spot of someone who's never played, or a result that confirmed itself — counts towards the same limit: a second one within 30 days lifts you one place. After a walkover you can't challenge that same player again for 14 days (the challenge list shows when). To take someone's spot outright, beat them on court. The player who ducked still drops a place (more for repeat walkovers in a season). Walkover news that lands overnight waits until 8am.
Wildcards. Some ladders give each player one wildcard per season: a challenge to anyone above you, however high. Win and you leapfrog to their position. Use it wisely — you only get one. A wildcard match is always played level: there's no handicap on a wildcard, because handicap matches never change places.
Handicap challenges. Some ladders let you propose a head start with your challenge — one side starts every game 15, 30 or 40 up (tie-breaks are always played level). The app even suggests a fair start from your ratings. Your opponent can accept, counter with a different handicap, or decline — nothing is locked until someone accepts. A handicap match never changes ladder places — it's a chance to play someone, not a route to take their spot. Wins, losses and Court Coins count like any other match, it never touches anyone's skill rating, and the start is shown on the scoreboard beside the player who had it (⚖ 30–0 means they started every game 30–0 up), so a handicap win is never mistaken for a level one. Already accepted the challenge and agreed a start on the day? On the match, tap ⋯ then Add a handicap; your opponent accepts it or keeps it level. Give the start and win anyway? That earns the 🎩 Class Act bonus — extra Court Coins and a badge.
Staying active. A long lay-off gently slides you down: play at least once every few weeks (21 days by default) or you start slipping a place a week — so the table reflects who's actually playing, and nobody stays parked at the top after disappearing for months. Only your ladder position slides; your rating (your skill level) is never touched, so when you come back you climb straight up again. Already got a match arranged? You're protected — if you've sent a challenge, or accepted one, the countdown pauses until you play (a challenge you're sitting on unanswered doesn't count). So if an opponent gets injured, goes on holiday, or has to postpone, it never costs you a place — it's not your fault the match hasn't happened yet. Marking yourself Away (from your profile — tap your avatar, top right) protects you while you're injured or on holiday — no challenges, and no slide for the first few weeks — and it lifts automatically. When you go Away you can also pick a "Back on" date: everyone sees "away · back 2 Aug" on the ladder so they know when to challenge you, and you flip back to Free-to-play automatically that day (no date = you return automatically after 28 days). You can't duck into Away to escape a challenge that's already waiting, though — deal with that one first (play it, postpone it, or let it walk over). And Away works both ways: while you're Away nobody can challenge you, and you can't challenge anyone either. You can't go Away while a challenge you sent is still on (play it or cancel it first), and to challenge again just set yourself back to Free to play. (Clubs can also switch on a stricter "defend or drift" rule.)
Ratings. Alongside your position you'll see a rating that moves with every confirmed result — win against stronger players and it climbs faster. It's separate from your ladder position and follows you across leagues.
Seasons. The ladder itself never resets — but many leagues run seasonal chapters on top. When a season has an end date you'll see a countdown on the league page ("⏳ 23 days left this season") and reminder notifications at one month out, one week out and on the final day. Whoever is #1 on the final day is crowned champion, goes into the league's Hall of Fame, and the ladder rolls straight on into the next chapter with everyone keeping their place. Win/loss counts start fresh each season; your full match history is never lost. The next season's window starts automatically, so the ladder never stops.
Season awards. The champion isn't the only name in lights: each season also crowns 🏔 Most improved (biggest climb from your starting rung), 🛡 Iron player (most matches played) and 🗡 Giant killer (most wins over players ranked well above you) - all into the Hall of Fame. There's also a Giant Killer badge for beating anyone 3+ places up, a personal-best alert when you hit your highest-ever position, and if someone below you goes on a winning streak... you'll hear about it.
Joining the club without a league
Not ready to climb a ladder yet? When you join, pick "Just join the club — pick a league later". You're a club member straight away: you appear in Players, you can be picked for Pickup Doubles and friendlies, and you can join a league whenever you fancy. Adults only — juniors always join a junior league so the safeguarding rules apply. Organisers can add club members the same way from Organiser → Players → Club members.