Pickleball bracket maker

Pool play first, then the playoff

Many pickleball tournaments with more than a handful of teams do not start with a knockout bracket. They start with pool play: small groups where everybody plays everybody, and the results seed a playoff. That is the preset on this page: the Groups format sets up the pools, gives you a standings table for each, and builds the knockout bracket from the best teams of every pool.

The advantage is that every team plays several games, even the weakest, and the playoff pairings are based on results instead of a guess. The cost is more games: for twelve teams in three pools of four you play 18 pool games before the playoff starts. The 12 team bracket page shows the numbers. When you are short on time, take only the winner of each pool into the playoff.

Set up a pickleball tournament

1. Singles or doubles. The tool treats each line as one entry. For doubles write both names on one line, such as "Anna & Ben".
2. Choose the number of pools. Aim for pools of three to five entries, so that every entry has at least two games. In the options, set the number of groups and how many advance.
3. Enter the scores. Type the points of both sides for each game. The standings rank by points for wins, then by the head-to-head result and the point difference. You can change the order of the tiebreakers in the options.
4. Run the playoff. When the pools are done, the knockout bracket is filled in from the standings.
5. Share and print. Share the live link so players can check their court and opponents, and print the bracket for the tournament desk.

Other formats you can use

Pool play with a playoff is not the only way. Pickleball tournaments also run a plain round robin, single elimination or double elimination. In the tool you can switch the format before you create the tournament. Use the round robin generator for a league-style event, or the double elimination bracket when you want every team to get a second chance.

For a quick evening, a round robin with six teams takes 15 games, and a single elimination bracket for eight teams takes 7. The size pages list the exact numbers for each field.

The rules this page relies on

We only state rule numbers that we checked against the published USA Pickleball rules. Tournaments can set their own formats, so use the tournament director’s rules when they differ.

• Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2. USA Pickleball Rules Summary (opens in a new tab)
• Tournament games may be played to 15 or 21 points, win by 2. USA Pickleball Rules Summary (opens in a new tab)
• In the standard side-out scoring, points are scored only by the serving team. USA Pickleball Rules Summary (opens in a new tab)
• In doubles the score is called as three numbers: the serving team’s score, the receiving team’s score and the server number. USA Pickleball 2026 Official Rulebook (opens in a new tab)
• A common tournament option is best two of three games to 11 points. USA Pickleball 2026 Official Rulebook (opens in a new tab)
• In pool play, each pool plays a round robin to seed the teams for a single elimination or double elimination playoff. USA Pickleball 2026 Official Rulebook (opens in a new tab)
• In double elimination, a tie-breaker match to 15 points decides first and second place if the winner of the consolation bracket wins the final. USA Pickleball 2026 Official Rulebook (opens in a new tab)