Can I add players after the tournament starts?

Yes — both Padelio users and guests can be added at any point up to and including a STARTED tournament. They join in the next available slot (RESERVED if there's room, WAITLIST if the tournament is at capacity). What's blocked once the tournament starts is **removing** participants — that stops the moment the first round begins.

Can I add a player who isn't on Padelio?

Yes. Add them as a guest with just a name (and optionally a level). They're tracked in this tournament under that name. They don't get a profile, level, or stats history — but the tournament still records their results.

What happens to a guest's results if they sign up later?

Guests can claim their tournament entries once they create a Padelio account, attaching the past results to their new profile. The owner can also rename a guest entry from the participant list.

How do I deal with a no-show?

Before the first round starts, remove them from the participant list. After the tournament has started, removal is blocked — to keep results consistent, keep the entry and just don't enter scores for their court (or end the round early).

Is there a guest limit?

Yes. Free accounts can add up to 12 guests per tournament. Pro accounts (or tournaments hosted by a Crew/Crew Pro crew) have no guest cap. There's no separate "registered users" cap — only the total player capacity you set in step 1 of the create wizard, which starts at 4 and tops out at whatever your plan allows. See [getting-started/upgrading-to-paid](/docs/getting-started/upgrading-to-paid) for the per-plan caps.

How do I add players to a Padelio tournament?

TL;DR:

Tap Add players during creation (or from the tournament page after) and choose between searching Padelio users, adding guest names, or sharing the 6-character join code. Padelio holds extra joiners on a waitlist and promotes them automatically as room opens up. You need at least four players to start the first round.

Three ways to add a player

1. Search by Padelio handle

If the player already uses Padelio, type their name or handle in the search box. Padelio shows matching profiles — tap the right one to add. Their stats, level, and avatar carry over automatically.

2. Guest entry (non-Padelio)

For players who aren't on Padelio yet, tap Add as guest and enter their name (and optionally a starting level 1.0–10.0). They're tracked in this tournament under that name only — no profile, no level history, no stats accumulated.

If the guest later joins Padelio, they (or the owner) can claim the guest entry and the past tournament result attaches to the new profile.

Guest limit: the free tier allows up to 12 guest entries per tournament. Pro accounts and tournaments hosted by a Crew/Crew Pro crew have no guest cap.

Every tournament has a 6-character alphanumeric join code generated at creation. From the tournament page, copy or share the code. Anyone with a Padelio account can enter the code from Join → By code and join themselves up to the tournament's capacity. Late joiners go onto the waitlist if the RESERVED slots are full, and are promoted automatically when a slot opens.

The owner can see all joined and waitlisted users on the participants list.

Capacity, RESERVED vs WAITLIST

Padelio tracks two participant statuses:

RESERVED — confirmed in the tournament. Up to the capacity you set in step 1 of the wizard (from 4 players up to your plan's cap — see getting-started/upgrading-to-paid).
WAITLIST — over the capacity. Padelio holds them in order; if a RESERVED participant is removed (only possible before the tournament starts) or you raise the capacity, the next person on the waitlist is promoted automatically.

For private tournaments, joiners other than the owner enter as PENDING until the owner approves them.

Setting partnerships (fixed-pair tournaments only)

If you chose Fixed Pairs when creating, you'll see a partnerships builder once you have an even number of players. Tap two players to pair them; tap a paired player to break the pair. There's no auto-pair by skill — pairings are set manually.

In Dynamic Pairs tournaments you don't set partnerships — Padelio chooses partners every round.

Removing players

From the tournament page, open the participant list and tap a participant. Removal is only available before the tournament starts — once the first round begins, removal is blocked to keep generated rounds and historical results consistent.

There's no built-in "replace" action; if you need to swap someone out before round 1, remove them and add the replacement separately.

Edge cases

Odd number of players? Some formats handle odd counts (Padelio rotates a sit-out per round); others ask you to add or remove a player to get an even count. Americano is the most flexible with odd counts.
Drop-ins after the start? Add them as a guest or have them join via the join code — both still work after the tournament has started. They join in the next available slot and play from the next round onward.

Where to go next

After players are in, see tournaments/rounds-and-timer to start play, or tournaments/manage-settings to adjust other options.

FAQ

Can I add players after the tournament starts?: Yes — both Padelio users and guests can be added at any point up to and including a STARTED tournament. They join in the next available slot (RESERVED if there's room, WAITLIST if the tournament is at capacity). What's blocked once the tournament starts is **removing** participants — that stops the moment the first round begins.
Can I add a player who isn't on Padelio?: Yes. Add them as a guest with just a name (and optionally a level). They're tracked in this tournament under that name. They don't get a profile, level, or stats history — but the tournament still records their results.
What happens to a guest's results if they sign up later?: Guests can claim their tournament entries once they create a Padelio account, attaching the past results to their new profile. The owner can also rename a guest entry from the participant list.
How do I deal with a no-show?: Before the first round starts, remove them from the participant list. After the tournament has started, removal is blocked — to keep results consistent, keep the entry and just don't enter scores for their court (or end the round early).
Is there a guest limit?: Yes. Free accounts can add up to 12 guests per tournament. Pro accounts (or tournaments hosted by a Crew/Crew Pro crew) have no guest cap. There's no separate "registered users" cap — only the total player capacity you set in step 1 of the create wizard, which starts at 4 and tops out at whatever your plan allows. See [getting-started/upgrading-to-paid](/docs/getting-started/upgrading-to-paid) for the per-plan caps.

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