Americano and Mexicano: How Padel's Two Most Popular Formats Work

If you’ve recently started playing padel, sooner or later you’ll hear the words “Americano” and “Mexicano.” These are the two most common formats for social tournaments and club sessions – easy to understand, fun, and perfect for meeting new players. Below we explain how each one works, how they differ, and what to expect if you sign up for the first time.

What the two formats have in common

Before we look at the differences, it helps to know what stays the same in both:

You play for individual points. Each player collects their own points, not points for a pair.
Partners change every round. You don’t play the whole evening with the same teammate.
There’s no game or set scoring. Each mini-match is played to a set number of points.
The winner is a player, not a pair. Whoever has the most points at the end of the evening wins.

That’s exactly what makes these formats so social: in a single evening you play with and against many different people.

Americano – how it’s played

Americano is the simpler of the two formats, which makes it a popular choice for beginners.

Players are split into groups of four for each match – two against two.
Each mini-match is played to a fixed number of points, most often 21 (16, 19, 24…), depending on the organizer.
The points you win are recorded under your name, no matter who your partner is at the time.
After each round, partners and opponents change according to a pre-set schedule, so that with enough time you play with and against everyone.
At the end, the individual points are added up to produce the final standings.

Example: if the match is played to 21 points and your pair wins 11:10, the points you personally won in that match are recorded under your name. In the next round you get a new partner and new opponents.

Where you’ll come across it: Americano is a favorite format for friendly evenings, club events, and mixed tournaments, because it’s easy to organize and everyone plays equally.

Mexicano – how it’s played

Mexicano is the “smarter” version of Americano. The main difference is the way the pairs are decided for each round.

The first round is usually random or arranged based on an initial assessment of skill level.
After each round, players are ranked according to the points they’ve won.
The pairs for the next round are set according to these standings. The typical rule: in a group of four, the player ranked first partners with the fourth against the second and third, so the match stays balanced.
The standings are recalculated after each round, and the pairs are formed anew.
Once again, the winner is the player with the most points at the end.

Why it’s different: because the pairs shift according to the standings, as the tournament progresses you increasingly play against people close to your own level. The matches become more competitive and more balanced than in a pure Americano.

Because of these calculations, Mexicano is almost always run with an app or a spreadsheet. As a player, you don’t need to calculate anything – the organizer takes care of that.

Americano or Mexicano – which to choose

	Americano	Mexicano
How pairs are set	Pre-set, fixed schedule	Dynamic, based on standings
Match balance	Random – you might play against much stronger or weaker opponents	More even as the tournament progresses
Complexity	Easier to understand and organize	Slightly more complex (calculations needed after each round)
Best suited for	Social evenings, mixed levels, meeting people	When players want a more competitive feel

For a beginner, both formats work well. If you’re playing for the first time, Americano is the gentler entry point – there are fewer rules and the pace is easier to follow. Mexicano is perfectly accessible too: the feel is more competitive, but all the “math” is left to the organizer.

Tips for your first tournament

Arrive 10-15 minutes early for a short warm-up.
Don’t worry about your level – these formats were designed precisely to mix players up.
Ask the organizer how many points each match is played to and how scoring works – the rules vary slightly between clubs.
Bring water and a spare shirt. Over one evening you play more than you’d expect.
The goal is to have fun and get to know the local padel community, not to win at all costs.