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How Many Matches in a Round-Robin?
By The PB ScoreKeeper PRO Team, Pickleball tournament software team · Last reviewed 2026-06-29
A single round-robin, where everyone plays everyone once, has N x (N - 1) / 2 matches, where N is the number of players or teams. Six entrants play 15 matches, eight play 28, and ten play 45. Double those counts if every pairing plays twice (a double round-robin).
The quick answer: a single round-robin has N x (N - 1) / 2 matches, where N is the number of players or teams. Each entrant plays N - 1 matches, and dividing by two avoids counting the same pairing twice. For a double round-robin, where every pairing meets twice, multiply the total by two.
Key takeaways
- Single round-robin matches = N x (N - 1) / 2.
- Each entrant plays N - 1 matches.
- Double round-robin doubles the total: N x (N - 1).
- The same formula counts teams, not just individuals.
Round-robin size table
Total matches by field size (single round-robin)| Entrants (N) | Matches per entrant (N - 1) | Total matches | Double round-robin |
|---|
| 4 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | 4 | 10 | 20 |
| 6 | 5 | 15 | 30 |
| 7 | 6 | 21 | 42 |
| 8 | 7 | 28 | 56 |
| 10 | 9 | 45 | 90 |
| 12 | 11 | 66 | 132 |
| 16 | 15 | 120 | 240 |
Turn match count into time and courts
Once you know the total, plan the day from it. With C courts you can run C matches at once, so the rounds needed are roughly the total matches divided by C, and total time is about (matches / courts) x match length. For example, 28 matches on two courts at 20 minutes each is around 14 rounds, near 4.7 hours of play, which is why large fields are usually split into pools.
Big field? Split into pools: Beyond about twelve entrants a full round-robin runs long. Split the field into pools, play a round-robin inside each, then advance the top finishers to a bracket to keep the day a sensible length.
Build a round-robin in minutes, try the demo
Frequently asked questions
How many matches are in an 8-player round-robin?
28. Using N x (N - 1) / 2 with N = 8 gives 8 x 7 / 2 = 28 matches, and each player plays 7.
What is the formula for round-robin matches?
N x (N - 1) / 2 for a single round-robin, where N is the number of players or teams. For a double round-robin, where each pairing plays twice, it is N x (N - 1).
Does the formula change for doubles?
No. Count each fixed pair as one entry and use the same formula with N as the number of teams. Twelve teams play 66 matches.
Related guides
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