Single Elimination - Full Format Walkthrough

Single elimination is the simplest bracket format. Once you generate the bracket, matches are laid out round by round — one loss eliminates a team. The winner of each match advances until a champion is crowned. This format works for singles or doubles. In singles, each team is one player. In doubles, each team is a two-player pair.

How the format works

• One loss and you're out. The winner of each match advances to the next round.

• Round labels update based on bracket size: Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final.

• The bracket includes a 3rd/4th place match between the two semifinal losers.

• Teams are seeded by DUPR rating when available, or placed randomly when ratings are missing.

For more detail on how seeds and byes are assigned, see How seeding and byes work in bracket formats.

Add players or teams

Before generating the bracket, your event needs players or teams registered.

If Using CourtReserve

Players sync automatically from CourtReserve registrations. To refresh manually:

1. Go to your event

2. Open the Players tab

3. Click the sync button to pull the latest registrations

For detailed syncing steps, see Sync players into an event.

If Not Using CourtReserve

Add players or teams manually or import from a spreadsheet:

1. Go to your event

2. Open the Players tab

3. Click + Add Players to add manually, or import from a spreadsheet

For doubles events, players register as pairs. For singles events, each player registers individually.

Generate the bracket

Generate the bracket after your teams are set.

1. Open the bracket view for the division.

2. Tap the Admin button.

3. Select Generate Bracket.

What you see after generation

The full bracket tree opens with matches arranged by round. You can score matches as soon as both teams are set.

Scoring a match

Tap any match card to open the score dialog. Enter set scores for each team. The system automatically determines the winner based on the final set. Once scored, the winner automatically advances to the next match in the bracket.

For more detail on match scoring and validation, see Scoring bracket matches.

Walkovers and forfeits

From the score dialog, you can declare a walkover and select which team wins. The match is marked as "Forfeit" with an orange badge, and the winning team advances. No scores need to be entered.

Swapping teams

Admins see a pencil icon on each team slot in the bracket. Tapping it opens a substitution dialog that shows the current team and a list of all available replacement teams (with player names and seed info). Select a new team and they're swapped into that bracket slot.

This is useful for correcting seeding errors or handling last-minute team changes. Only admins can use this — non-admins see an error message if they try.

Court assignment

Each match card has a status badge that doubles as a court action button:

Courts currently occupied by live matches are shown as unavailable. When you set a match to Live, a push notification is automatically sent to the players: "Your Match is Live! Your match has been called to Court [#]."

For more detail on configuring and managing courts, see Court management in bracket formats.

Auto-assign courts

From the admin menu, toggle Auto-Assign Courts on or off. You can also pick which round to start auto-assigning from. When enabled, the system automatically assigns available courts to matches as they become ready.

Clearing the bracket

1. Open the admin menu.

2. Tap Clear Knockout Bracket.

3. A red warning dialog confirms:

   • ALL bracket matches will be deleted

   • ALL scores and results will be lost

   • ALL court assignments will be cleared

   • This cannot be undone

4. Confirm by tapping DELETE ENTIRE BRACKET.

After clearing, you can regenerate a new bracket from scratch.

Printing

Tap the print icon (web only) and choose between:

1. Bracket View – Prints the full tournament bracket tree as displayed on screen.

2. Individual Match Cards – Prints scorecards with configurable settings.

Viewing the bracket

On mobile

Rounds are shown as swipeable pages. Tap the round pills at the top (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final, etc.) to jump to a specific round. Pull down to refresh.

On web

The full bracket tree is displayed horizontally with connector lines between rounds. Scroll left/right to see all rounds.

What's next

For help with other bracket operations, see Editing bracket matches.