How to plan your next doubles session
DinkCircle organizes casual pickleball doubles for 4–24 players, up to four courts and 1–32 rounds. Start with the courts you actually have and the friends who are available.
1. Add your group
Use one nickname per line. Each court takes four players: nine people can use up to two courts, while 16 can use four. Choose how many rounds fit your session. A round is your group’s game or agreed time slot; the app does not run a timer or enforce scoring rules.
The four-player swap uses one court and three rounds. The five-player rotation uses one court and five rounds. For larger groups, choose Custom and adjust the courts and rounds.
2. Check and share the plan
Shuffle, then review each court and the rest bench. Find your nickname to highlight your court, partner and full set of rounds. Fairness & player totals shows the actual games, rest rounds and repeated partners in the plan.
Print includes every round. Export downloads a CSV. A shared link opens a read-only snapshot; it includes nicknames and any recorded final scores. Anyone with the complete link can read and forward it. Edits do not live-sync. Read the privacy details before sending a link.
3. Play at your own pace
You can put the phone away and follow a printed plan. If you prefer tracking progress, Finished · next marks a round played. Back lets you review a previous round without marking it again. Final scores are optional, and the recap includes only played games and scores you actually recorded.
When someone joins or leaves, update availability. The app keeps completed matches and scores, rebuilds future rounds and offers undo for the last action. The session needs at least four available players and supports at most 24 distinct nicknames.
What “fair” means here
The schedule favors players with fewer games, then tries to reduce repeated partnerships and opponents. After a mid-session change, it uses actual played history rather than the future matches you discarded. This is a heuristic: short sessions or constrained groups may repeat partners, and shuffling can produce a different order.
This is an open play rotation planner, not an exhaustive round-robin tournament system. It has no skill matching, rankings or elimination bracket. Compare the complete nine-player, two-court example to see participation and partner variety measured separately.
Before heading to the court
Agree on when a round ends and how long rests last. Keep the plan accessible to the group. The tool organizes who plays together; it does not replace your venue’s rules or official pickleball rules.
For serving, faults and scoring rules, consult the USA Pickleball official rules. DinkCircle is independent and is not affiliated with USA Pickleball.
Common questions
Is DinkCircle free? Do players need an account?
It is free to use. No signup, subscription or payment is required. Players can use a printed plan without opening the app.
Does it guarantee a perfect round-robin schedule?
No. The planner favors players with fewer games, then tries to reduce repeated partners and opponents. It is a heuristic for casual doubles, not a tournament bracket, skill ranking or guarantee that every possible pairing will happen. The four-player, three-round preset does cover all six partnerships.
Do I need to enter scores?
No. Print the whole plan before playing, or optionally mark rounds played as you go. Final scores are optional, accept 0–99 for each team, and can be corrected or cleared. They do not control the rotation.
Will a shared link update? Who can see it?
A link is a read-only snapshot, not a live session. Anyone with the complete link can see its nicknames, schedule and recorded final scores, and can forward it. Send a new link after a change. Resetting your device does not revoke earlier links.
Where is my session saved?
In this browser’s local storage, on this device and website address. There is no cross-device sync or player database. Changing browsers, clearing storage, or using another domain can leave you without the saved session. Print or export a copy you want to keep.
Can players arrive late or leave early?
Yes. Update available players to rebuild only future rounds. Matches marked played and their recorded scores stay unchanged. At least four players must remain available, and a session can contain at most 24 distinct nicknames. You can undo the last change.