In most padel and tennis competitions you play in pairs. That is why a team in Slams is a duo: two players who take part together as a pair. You create teams within a part (a competition or tournament division), so each team gets a spot in the schedule and the standings.
Which formats use teams?
Duo teams belong to formats where you play in fixed pairs:
- Tournament: teams appear under the Duos tab.
- League (groups) and ladder in duo mode: teams appear under the Teams tab.
Not every format works with fixed duos. In Americano, Mexicano and the mix variants the partners change each round, so there you add individual players instead of teams. Beat the Box and a ladder in individual mode are also per person. And Team Clash uses larger teams with a color, not duos. Read more about that at Team Clash in Slams. Not sure which format fits? See Choosing a format.
Adding a duo
Open the part and go to the Teams or Duos tab. At the bottom you will find a block to add a team. You type the names of both players. As you type, Slams suggests existing players from your member list. If you pick an existing name, that player is reused. If you type a new name, Slams creates that player automatically. So you do not have to navigate away first to add someone.
The average rating of the duo is calculated automatically from the two players. You can read more about ratings at The DSS rating explained.
The team name
A team name is optional. If you fill one in (for example "The Smashers"), it is shown above the player names in the schedule, the standings and on the public page. If you leave the field empty, you only see the two player names. Handy if you want to work with team names, but never required.
Filling teams in bulk
You do not have to type in every team by hand. There are two faster ways:
- Import the member list: first add your players in bulk to the member list via a CSV file. After that they appear as a suggestion as soon as you build a team. See Importing participants via CSV and Adding players.
- Participants register themselves: share the registration link and let pairs register as a duo. As soon as a registration is confirmed or paid, Slams creates the team automatically, including the team name chosen by the person who registered. See Sharing the registration link and Managing registrations.
Swapping a player in a team
Someone dropping out? You do not have to recreate the team. With the substitute feature another player takes over the spot in the duo, while the matches played and the ratings stay correct. See Replacing a player.
