Built for whoever is holding the clipboard
CourtConnect is a free tool for running pickleball open play. It handles the part nobody enjoys — working out who plays next, on which court, with whom — so the person organising can actually get a game in.
The problem it solves
Every open play group has someone with a whiteboard, a notes app, or a fistful of paddle tags. That person spends the session doing mental arithmetic: who has been waiting longest, who has already played together, whether the teams are even, and which court is about to free up. They rarely play much themselves, and when they are away the session gets messy.
CourtConnect replaces that job. You add the players, set your courts, and it forms balanced matches, tracks the queue by waiting time, avoids repeat partners and opponents, and keeps a running record of results. When a court opens, the next group is already decided and on screen.
How it works
For the organizer
Open the site, start a session, and add players as they arrive. Set how many courts you have. Tap to generate matches, record the score when a game ends, and the next group is placed automatically. At the end, you get a full leaderboard with every match played, which you can print or export.
For everyone else
The organizer can create a spectator room and share a six-character code or a QR code. Anyone who opens it sees a live, read-only view: current matches, the waiting queue, who is up next, and recent results. It updates in real time, so nobody has to ask whether they are next. Players do not need an account or an app.
Two matchmaking modes
- Balanced — the default. Evens out the two sides of each match using player ratings, while rotating on waiting time and avoiding repeat pairings.
- Royale — a ladder. Winners face winners and losers face losers, so games sort themselves by form as the session goes on. The best record is crowned at the end, and anyone can climb back by winning.
There is also a DUPR mode that swaps the in-app star ratings for official DUPR numbers and balances on those instead.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no paid tier, no trial, and no feature held back. If you find it useful there is a voluntary support link on the site, but nothing is gated behind it.
Do players need to create accounts?
No. Nobody needs an account — not the organizer, not the players. You type player names in as they arrive, and that is the whole setup. The spectator link works for anyone who opens it, with no sign-in.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet, or laptop. If you want it to behave like an app, you can install it to your home screen — on Android and desktop Chrome there is an install button, and on iPhone use Share, then "Add to Home Screen".
What happens to my session data?
A session lives for about 24 hours and is then automatically deleted. It is stored so that your session survives refreshes, dropped connections, and switching devices — not to build a long-term record. Player names exist only inside that session. There are no player profiles, no history across sessions, and nothing is sold or shared.
Can I move a session to another device?
Yes. If your phone is about to die, use Transfer Session — it produces a QR code and a link that hands the live session to another device. The old device is signed out so two people cannot edit the same session at once.
What if the internet drops mid-session?
The session is saved continuously, so a dropped connection does not lose your data. Buttons will pause while offline and recover automatically once you reconnect. If a page ever looks stuck after coming back online, refreshing restores the current state.
Can I reserve a court for a specific skill level?
Yes, and the rule is strict: a court set to a level accepts only players at exactly that level, never "that level and above". If there are not enough qualifying players, the court waits rather than mixing levels. It is worth reading the skill levels guide before relying on it, because strict courts can sit idle if turnout is uneven.
Can two players always be on the same team?
Yes — partner lock. Lock any two players together and they will be kept on the same team in every match while the rest of the rotation continues as normal. It works in every mode and on every court type, and you can unlock at any time.
How does it decide who plays next?
Primarily by waiting time: the longer someone has been sitting, the sooner they play. Within that, it prefers groups that avoid recent partners and recent opponents, and — in balanced mode — that make the two teams as even as possible. Late arrivals join the back of the queue rather than jumping ahead.
What scoring formats are supported?
Any. Scores are free-form whole numbers, so games to 11, 15, 21, or timed games all work. There is no forced win-by-two rule; record whatever the actual score was.
Can I get the results afterwards?
Yes. The end-of-session page shows the full leaderboard and every match played, in a print-friendly layout, and there is a CSV export for spreadsheets. Individual players can also generate a shareable stat card image.
Who made this?
CourtConnect is built and maintained by a pickleball organizer in the Philippines who got tired of running rotations on a whiteboard. It is under active development — see the changelog for what has shipped recently. Bug reports and suggestions are genuinely welcome via the Facebook page linked on the home page.
Give it a try
No sign-up, no install. Start a session and see how it handles your group.
Start a free session