Keep your team identity
Useful when two friends want to stay on the same side whenever they are playing. Extra players mix into both sides, and original players return to their assigned side after resting.
NESTER PLAY / ON-COURT GUIDES
Five or six players.
One good session.
Four players on court. A clear plan for everyone waiting to come back in.
Can you play padel with five or six people?
For a social doubles session, yes: four people play at a time and the extra one or two take rest turns. It is a rotating session rather than a five- or six-person match played all at once. Agree your format before starting so nobody is left wondering when they are back on.
Nester Play supports sessions of 2–6 players. With five or six, you can keep the original team identities and mix extra players into the sides, or rotate lineups between matches. Players do not change teams in the middle of a match.
A simple five-player rotation
This illustrative five-match cycle gives each player one rest. A and B start together, C and D start together, and E mixes into both sides. It explains the idea; the app’s precise lineup can differ.
| Match | Team 1 | Team 2 | Resting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A + B | C + D | E |
| 2 | E + B | C + D | A |
| 3 | A + B | E + D | C |
| 4 | A + E | C + D | B |
| 5 | A + B | C + E | D |
Each person plays four matches. Equal rest turns are useful, but they do not guarantee equal minutes if match lengths vary. For a short court booking, agree a shorter match format together.
With six players, two rest each match
You can start with four original players and two mixers. In the example below, everyone rests once over three matches. A longer session can continue rotating partners and opponents.
| Match | Team 1 | Team 2 | Resting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A + B | C + D | E, F |
| 2 | E + B | F + D | A, C |
| 3 | A + F | C + E | B, D |
Fixed teams or rotating partners?
Change the lineup
Useful when you want different partnerships across the session. Choose how many completed matches to play before the next lineup. A best-of-three match is a match, not three separate rotation steps.
This is a casual session format. It should not be presented as a full Americano or Mexicano tournament generator: those formats use their own scheduling and scoring conventions.
Compare results with the games behind them
Win rate can be more useful than total wins when people play different numbers of matches. Always look at the sample too: one win from one match and eight wins from ten matches tell different stories.
Nester Play’s personal and group scores let you review results over time, with options to rank by win rate, matches won, sets won or games won. A player who did not play in the selected period stays visible without being given a misleading win rate. Individual session results use sets or games won.
Start with the points, games and sets guide, or see how Apple Watch scoring fits the session. Public downloads are coming soon; current development features are free.