Mixed doubles & gender balance
Set each player's gender once, then pick the rule: strict mixed doubles on every court, separate men's and women's games, or a softer balance.
Some groups want strict mixed doubles, some want separate men's and women's games, and some just want more of each across the night. The Mixer can do any of those. Set each player's gender once and turn on the rule you want.
1. Set each player's gender
Open a player's menu from the ⋮ (three-dot) button on their roster row and choose Male or Female. A check mark shows the current setting, and you can clear it later if you set it by mistake.
Gender is optional and per-player. Players you leave unset are treated as "unspecified", which matters once you turn on a gender rule (see the note below).
2. Choose the rule you want
Open the Gender controls (the Gender button below the courts opens the Gender Controls panel) and you'll find two switches plus a weight that controls how hard the Mixer tries:
- Prefer Mixed Doubles Courts: a court where each team is one man and one woman.
- Prefer Single-Gender Courts: a court where all four players are the same gender (all men or all women).
- Mixed Doubles Weight: how strongly to prioritize the rule against everything else (fresh partners, rating balance, sit-outs). Higher means the Mixer tries harder to satisfy it, even if that means more repeats.
The two switches combine into the four arrangements below:
| Mixed allowed | Same-gender allowed | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| ✓ | ✓ | Either is fine: mixed or all-same courts |
| ✓ | ✗ | Mixed doubles only; all-same courts are avoided |
| ✗ | ✓ | All-men / all-women only; mixed courts are avoided |
| ✗ | ✗ | Nothing is allowed, so every court counts as wrong (not useful) |
The preset picker has ready-made gender presets if you'd rather not tune the switches by hand: a gentle "play a few more mixed and same-gender games" nudge at one end, "mixed doubles only" and "force same-gender games" at the other. Each preset sets these toggles and the Mixed Doubles Weight for you.
3. Mix
Press Mix and the Mixer builds rounds that follow your rule while still keeping partners and opponents as fresh as it can. The Mixed Doubles Weight decides which wins when those goals conflict.
What if my roster doesn't split evenly by gender?
Gender balance is a strong preference rather than a hard rule. Courts that break your gender rule are avoided whenever the roster allows.
So if you ask for mixed doubles only but you have, say, ten men and six women, some courts can't be mixed; the math doesn't allow it. Rather than refusing to mix, the Mixer accepts the unavoidable courts and keeps the rest mixed. A higher Mixed Doubles Weight pushes the imbalance onto as few courts as possible.
One thing to watch: a player with no gender set can't satisfy either rule (they can't complete an all-same court or a mixed pairing), so they read as "wrong gender" everywhere. If your gender mixing looks off, the usual cause is a few unset players. Set everyone's gender and the problem goes away.
How does gender balance interact with fixed partners and rating balance?
- Fixed partners: pairings you've locked together are kept as-is, so make sure a fixed pair already matches your gender rule (e.g. one man + one woman if you want mixed doubles). The Mixer won't break a fixed partnership to satisfy gender.
- Rating balance: gender and rating balance both compete for the Mixer's attention. If you run both at high weight on a tight roster, expect more repeat partners, since something has to give. Lower one weight if the matchups feel too forced.
Next
- Settings reference: every setting in one place.
- Fixed partners: locking specific pairs together.