Americano is one of the most fun ways to play pickleball with a group. You switch partners every round, everyone plays with and against everyone, and you keep score individually. It is social, it works across mixed skill levels, and it is quick to organize.
What is Americano?
In Americano you do not play in fixed pairs. Each round you get a different partner and different opponents. You collect points on an individual basis: at the end, what counts is your total across all rounds, not whether your team won. That way everyone plays the same amount and it stays exciting right up to the finish.
How does the schedule work?
An Americano consists of a series of short rounds. Each round you play to a fixed number of points, for example 16 or 21. After that everyone switches court and partner according to a set schedule, so the combinations add up and nobody plays with the same partner twice. At the end all individual points are added together into a final standing.
Building the schedule by hand is error-prone, especially with more courts and players. A tool that automatically handles the draw and keeps track of the standings saves a lot of hassle on the night itself.
