Padel ELO: how your rating is calculated and how the system works

What is ELO?

The ELO system was created by the Hungarian-American physicist Arpad Elo for chess, but is now used from tennis and football to padel. The core idea is simple: every player has a number, their ELO rating, that represents their relative strength. When you beat someone with a higher ELO your rating rises more than when you beat someone lower. Lose to a weaker player and you drop more points than when you lose to a stronger one.

The padel ELO formula

The update after a match looks like this:

New ELO = Old ELO + K × (S − E)

S = actual score (1 = win, 0.5 = draw, 0 = loss)
E = expected score
K = K-factor (how sensitive the rating is)

The expected score E is computed with the logistic curve:

E = 1 / (1 + 10^((ELO_opponent − ELO_you) / 400))

The number 400 is a convention: a player 400 points higher is expected to win about 91% of matches. 200 points higher corresponds to roughly a 76% win probability.

Example: how it works in practice

Assume you have ELO 1000 and meet a player with ELO 1200. The K-factor is 32.

• E = 1 / (1 + 10^((1200 − 1000) / 400)) = 1 / (1 + 10^0.5) ≈ 0.24
• You win: New ELO = 1000 + 32 × (1 − 0.24) ≈ 1024 (+24)
• You lose: New ELO = 1000 + 32 × (0 − 0.24) ≈ 992 (−8)

You gain more from beating a higher-rated player than you lose from falling to them, that's why ELO rewards challenging yourself.

How ELO works for a team sport like padel

Padel is played 2 vs 2, which is demanding on the system. On Padelpoolen we compute a team ELO as the average of the two players' ELOs, compare it to the opposing team's average and then distribute the rating change to each player on the winning and losing teams. That way the duo that beats a stronger team both get a clear ELO gain, and a top-ranked player cannot "carry" a weak partner without risk.

The K-factor on Padelpoolen

The K-factor controls how much your rating moves per match. Padelpoolen uses a dynamic K that decreases with the number of matches played, so new accounts calibrate quickly and established players get a more stable rating. Match and Americano have different K ladders:

Americano has a lower K because you play many short rounds per tournament, the total movement per evening is still enough for fast calibration.

Match ELO and Americano ELO

We keep two separate ratings on Padelpoolen:

• Match ELO, updated after every registered match (2 vs 2). It is your main rating and is used for matchmaking.
• Americano ELO, a separate rating computed on every individual round in an Americano tournament, where teams rotate. Many rounds give faster calibration but are judged separately because the format differs from normal doubles.

Both values are shown on your profile so you can track your development over time.

ELO vs level 1–10: what's the difference?

The 1–10 level scale is a simple self-rating complemented by others' ratings, useful to describe yourself quickly. ELO on the other hand is an objective, result-driven number that changes automatically based on who you play and how it goes. The two complement each other: the level guides matchmaking, ELO rewards performance.

How to raise your padel ELO

• Play against higher-ELO players, wins give more points.
• Register every match in the app so the calculation runs automatically.
• Play Americano tournaments for more data points and faster calibration.
• Avoid always playing the same partner against the same opponents, ELO rewards variety.
• Focus on matches, not the number, the long-term trend matters more than a single round.

FAQ about ELO in padel