The padel Elo ranking, explained

In short

Vibaura ranks padel players with an Elo rating adapted to doubles. Every match validated by the players changes the rating of all four players. A pair’s strength gives more weight to the weaker player. Between established players, a match wins or loses 12 to 49 points depending on the opposing pair’s strength and the score: about 30 points for a match between evenly matched pairs played 6-4 6-4.

Starting level

Everyone starts at 400. There is no level questionnaire: your first three matches place you where you belong on the leaderboard.

The three placement matches

Your first three matches are placement matches: their points are multiplied by a little over 2, about 62 points for an even match won 6-4 6-4. If your rating rises during placement, the multiplier rises with it, up to 5 at 1200: a high level is confirmed faster.

When all four players in the match are in placement, the multiplier is only 1.25, since no established player is there to anchor it. An established player facing someone in placement wins or loses points as usual.

Pair strength

In padel, a pair is rarely worth the average of its two players: opponents target the weaker one. Vibaura therefore weights the pair toward the weaker player.

pair strength = 0.4 × stronger player + 0.6 × weaker player

Points per match

Your pair’s expected result is computed from the strength gap between the two pairs, then compared with the actual result. The actual result counts the win for 85 % and the share of games won for 15 %.

expected = 1 / (1 + 10^(−gap / 400)), bounded between 3/11 and 8/11

result = 0.85 × (1 for a win, 0 for a loss) + 0.15 × games won / games played

points = 67.5 × (result − expected), rounded

The bounds cap the effect of the strength gap at about 170 points: beating a much weaker pair earns at least 12 points, and beating a much stronger one 6-0 6-0 earns at most 49. A win always earns points, even with fewer games won than the opponents. Both partners start from the same number of points; placement and the streak bonus then apply to each of them.

A worked example

Pair A has players rated 600 and 400: its strength is 0.4 × 600 + 0.6 × 400 = 480. Pair B has players rated 520 and 480: its strength is 496. Pair A’s expected result is about 0.477. If it wins 6-4 6-4, each of its players gains 31 points; if it loses 4-6 4-6, each loses 28.

The score and streaks

The score margin counts a little: between evenly matched pairs, 6-0 6-0 earns 34 points and 7-6 7-6 earns 29. A third-set super tie-break counts as one game. A match played as a single set counts for half.

Win streaks are rewarded: +10 % points on the second win in a row, +20 % on the third, up to +40 % from the fifth. There is no rating decay for inactivity and no seasonal reset.

Facing the same opponents often

To stop players inflating their rating by always facing the same clearly weaker opponents, points are dampened when you meet the same players often over 60 days and the strength gap exceeds 120 points. The dampening is gradual and never goes below just over half the points.

Which matches count

Every match declared in Vibaura counts for the ranking. Only tournament matches may not count: a tournament moves Elo when it has at least four participants, all with a verified phone number, and no more than one dispute.

A match is validated once at least three of the four players have declared the same score, and a single contest is enough to block validation. The rating is only updated once all four seats are held by players with an account.

Other questions about matches and the ranking are answered in the FAQ.