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Pickleball Tournament & League Glossary
By The PB ScoreKeeper PRO Team, Pickleball tournament software team · Last reviewed 2026-06-25
This glossary defines the tournament and league terms organisers use most, round-robin, pools, single and double elimination, seeding, byes, standings, promotion and relegation, DUPR, and skinny singles, in one plain-English place.
Running an event means knowing the vocabulary. These are the tournament and league terms that come up most, defined in plain English.
Round-robin
A format where every entrant plays every other entrant once. The winner is decided by overall standings, not a knockout.
Pool play
A round-robin played within a small group (a pool). Pool standings usually seed a playoff bracket.
Single elimination
A knockout bracket: lose once and you are out. The fastest format for a large field.
Double elimination
A knockout where you must lose twice to be eliminated. Losers drop to a second bracket and can still reach the final.
Seeding
Ranking entrants so the strongest are placed apart in the bracket and only meet in later rounds.
Bye
A free pass to the next round, given to top seeds when the field is not a power of two.
Standings
The ranked order of entrants, typically by wins, then head-to-head, then point differential.
Promotion and relegation
Moving top finishers up a group and bottom finishers down between league cycles, keeping each group competitive.
Ladder league (box league)
A multi-week league that splits players into small rating-seeded groups, each playing a round-robin, with promotion and relegation between cycles.
DUPR
Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, a global 2.000-8.000 rating that updates from real match results across singles and doubles.
Skinny singles
Singles played on half the court (one side, lengthwise), often used for drills and quick competitive games.
Point differential
Points scored minus points allowed. A common tiebreaker when entrants finish level on wins.
Frequently asked questions
What is skinny singles in pickleball?
Singles played on half the court lengthwise, using only one service box diagonal. It keeps rallies tight and is popular for drills and quick competitive games.
What does a bye mean in a tournament?
A bye is a free pass to the next round. Byes go to the top seeds when the number of entrants is not a power of two, so the bracket fills evenly.
Related guides
Run pickleball tournaments and leagues on PB ScoreKeeper PRO.