How SPL works

The Saigon Padel League is a team-based padel league. Teams sign up for a season, get placed in a division with teams of a similar level, and play a scheduled fixture list against every other team in their division.

Divisions are grouped by skill level across Men's, Women's and Mixed leagues - a top-level division for the strongest teams down to entry-level divisions, with names like Gold or Silver for the tiers. How many divisions run, and which levels, is set each season based on how many teams sign up.

A team is 4 players. Each match night, 2 of them take the court as the pair for that fixture. Who plays is up to the team - within the rotation rules.

The rotation rules keep it a team sport, not a two-player show. Over the season, every rostered player must:

• play at least a minimum share of the team's matches, and
• rest (sit out) at least a minimum share.

The exact shares are set per division rules; the SPL default is one third each. Teams can also register substitutes, up to a per-division maximum (default 2).

League matches are best of three sets with standard padel scoring: sets to 6 games, tiebreak at 6-6 (recorded as 7-6). The app records two or three sets per match, including tiebreak points.

A win earns your team standings points - per division rules, the default is 1 point for a win, 0 for a loss. Walkovers are recorded as 6-0 6-0 to the team that showed up.

Division tables are ranked in this order:

1. 1

   Points

2. 2

   Overall set difference

3. 3

   Overall game difference

4. 4

   Head-to-head points

5. 5

   Head-to-head set difference

6. 6

   Head-to-head game difference

Every result is confirmed by both teams before it counts:

1. 1

   Captain submits

   After the match, one captain enters the sets and who played, right from the match page.

2. 2

   Opponent confirms or contests

   The opposing captain approves the score or contests it within the grace window (per division rules, default 24 hours).

3. 3

   Silence approves

   If nobody responds before the window closes, the submitted score is approved automatically.

4. 4

   Disputes go to admins

   A contested match lands in the admin queue, where it is upheld, corrected, or sent back for a replay.

Every player has an internal Elo rating. A brand-new player with no rating on record starts at a default of 1200; if we already know your rating from another system (VPR, PadelHub), you start seeded from that instead. After each approved match the winners take rating points from the losers: beating a stronger pair moves your rating more than beating a weaker one, and the set margin nudges the size of the swing.

1200 is just the starting point for an unrated newcomer, not the league average - most players are seeded from a known rating, so the middle of the pack sits wherever the field lands, not at any fixed number. What matters is where you are relative to everyone else, not the absolute figure.

Ratings are provisional until 20 rated matches - they move twice as fast while the system is still figuring you out, and a provisional player carries no global rank.

Not every match counts toward the rating. Events played in a separate pool of players (currently a handful of Cambodian tours) stay in your match history and stats, but are skipped by the rating - a rating only means something among players who actually meet each other.

External ratings (VPR, PadelHub) are shown on player profiles alongside the internal Elo.

When a season opens for registration, a public signup link is shared in the SPL WhatsApp groups. No account needed. Two ways in:

• As an individual - name, WhatsApp number, which leagues you want to play, your self-assessed level, and whether you are happy to sub. Admins pair individuals into teams of a matching level.
• As a team - team name, you as captain plus three teammates (mixed teams: two men and two women), and up to 2 substitutes. Slots you have not filled yet can be marked TBD.

Admins review every signup, assess levels, and assign teams to divisions. If a division is full you may be waitlisted for the next spot.

Played SPL before? Your player profile - with your match history and rating - probably already exists. Create an account, find your player page, and hit Claim this profile. An admin approves the claim and your history attaches to your account.

Once you are in, the app keeps the whole season in one place:

• League - divisions, fixtures, live standings.
• My Matches and Calendar - your upcoming and past matches.
• My Stats - win rate, rating history, season summary.
• Notifications - score submissions, confirmations and roster decisions, in-app and as push.

Standings pages have public share links too, so the whole division can follow along without logging in.

Every match has a Photos section. Use Take photo to snap one on your phone, or add shots from your camera roll. The players on that match get notified when new photos land - and a pre-match team photo becomes the background of the match's shareable result card.

Tap Kudos on a match to give the players a thumbs up. It is the quick way to show a good result some love; the participants get notified the first time a match is kudoed.

Matches, player cards, division standings and season pages all have public share links - anyone can open them without an account, so you can drop a result or your player card straight into a group chat.

When a season wraps, My Recap gives you a personal rundown of how it went - your matches, form and rating movement across the season.

Done with PadelHero? You can delete your account under Settings > Account. Your login and personal data are removed; your league match history stays and your player profile becomes unclaimed.

Snapped a good photo on a match night? You can add it without an account. Each round has a photo QR posted courtside - scan it, pick the match, and upload. Your photos attach to that match and the players get notified.

Every result, division table and player card also has a public link - no login needed - so scores, standings and player cards are easy to share in the group chat.