A fair, efficient way to cycle players in and out of multiple courts—ideal for three or more courts where winners and non‑winners each get equal opportunity to jump back in.

Why Use This System?

Balanced Play: Neither winners nor losers stay on back‑to‑back; every court turnover sends both teams back into separate queues.
Level Matching: As play goes on, players naturally sort by ability—making closer, more exciting matches.

Equipment

Two Queues of Paddles
one marked “Winners"
the other marked “Non‑Winners”
A “Next‑Up” Indicator: A cone, ball, or card placed beside whichever queue is feeding the next match.

Initial Setup

Gather all paddles from players who haven’t yet played.

Distribute into queues based on group size:

1–4 players: Place all paddles in the Winners Queue and label that queue “Next Up.”
5–8 players: First 4 paddles go into the Winners Queue, label taht queue “Next Up” as above; the remaining paddles go into the other queue.

Core Rotation Rules

After each match ends

All four players leave the court.
- Winning team: Place their paddles at the back of the Winners Queue.
- Losing team: Place their paddles at the back of the Non‑Winners Queue.
Feed the next match
- The queue marked by the Next‑Up Indicator sends its front four paddles to the newly vacated court.
- Before those players leave the queue area, flip the Next‑Up Indicator to the other queue.
Repeat for every court as it becomes available.

Edge‑Case Handling

Only Three Paddles in the Next‑Up Queue

If only three paddles remain in the queue that’s due next, one of the two players from the team that just came off court will join the first three and re-enter to play. To decide which of the two recent players re‑enters, you can do either one of the following:

Random Draw: Quick coin toss or “show one or two fingers” behind your paddle.
Voluntary Rest: A player who’s played multiple consecutive games may choose to sit out one turn—move their paddle to the back of its queue.

Late‑Arrival PlayerS

Two possible approach:

Quick Start: To get them playing ASAP, add late arrivals to the end of the Next‑Up Queue (if it has fewer than 3 paddles); otherwise, add them to its opposite queue.

Penalty Option: To enforce punctuality, place latecomers at the **back of the queue without** the Next‑Up Indicator—so they’ll wait at least one full turn.

Potential Problems

Perceived Unfairness

Because the process involves randomness, a player might feel they’re waiting longer than others.
How to address it: Explain that randomness evens out over time but doesn’t guarantee perfect turn-taking in each short session.

Simultaneous Court Turnovers

If two or more courts free up at exactly the same moment, players can rush the queues and confuse paddle placement.
Solution: Make sure that only one court’s players update the queue at a time

Example Flow (Three Courts)

1. Court A finishes; winners → Winners Queue back; losers → Non‑Winners back.

2. Next‑Up points to Non‑Winners Queue → front four non‑winners go to Court A.

3. Switch Next‑Up to Winners Queue.

4. Court B finishes; Next‑Up on Winners → winners go back in, then switch back.

5. And so on…