Court Waves
Court Waves waits until a few courts are free, then mixes everyone who is free onto them. How many courts to wait for, what it gains over rounds, and what it costs.
Court Waves waits until a set number of courts are free, then mixes everyone who is free onto them in one go, with your usual mixer settings. We call each of those mixes a wave. When a wave has more free players than places, your mixer's own sit-out rules decide who sits, as in rounds.
It is the recommended mode for changing partners with a social mix on 6 or more courts.
How many courts to wait for
Start the next games when this many courts are free: 2, 3, 4 or 5. The default is half your courts, at least 2 and at most 4. With one court, each game starts as soon as the court is free.
Why 4 is the default on 8 courts: when a wave is fed by 4 finished games, each new game can take one player from each of them, so almost nobody lands with someone from their last game. From 3 games, at least one pair must repeat, and from 2 games, two pairs.
32 players on 8 courts, social mix
| Wait for | Games per player | Pairs in a game who were in the same last game (of 6) | Nights where everyone is within one game | Average / longest wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rounds (for comparison) | 4.1 | 0.01 | 100% | 7.4 / 17 min |
| 2 courts | 5.5 | 1.72 | 18% | 1.1 / 7 min |
| 3 courts | 5.2 | 0.87 | 1% | 2.3 / 9 min |
| 4 courts (default) | 4.9 | 0.29 | 30% | 3.5 / 11 min |
| 5 courts | 4.4 | 0.11 | 0% | 5.7 / 15 min |
Waiting for fewer courts plays more games, but players keep meeting the same people: waiting for 2 courts, about 5 pairs of partners play together twice in a night, against almost none at 4. Waiting for 5 leaves courts empty longer, for fewer games and only slightly fresher groups. Everyone stays within two games of each other on most nights (83% at the default), even when not within one.
Small venues
On fewer than 6 courts the default wait is 2 courts, and that is the only way Court Waves gains much there. The Start dialog recommends Round Ahead for these nights instead, and says so under Court Waves. You can still choose Court Waves.
| Venue | Rounds | Wait for 2 | Wait for 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 players, 4 courts | 4.6 games · 0.16 pairs | 5.3 games · 1.65 pairs | 4.7 games · 0.81 pairs |
| 20 players, 4 courts | 3.7 games · 0.17 pairs | 4.2 games · 1.27 pairs | 3.7 games · 0.57 pairs |
| 24 players, 6 courts | 4.3 games · 0.04 pairs | 5.4 games · 1.70 pairs | 5.0 games · 0.84 pairs |
("Pairs" = pairs in each game who were in the same last game.) At 2 courts, waiting for 2 is rounds, and at 3 courts it plays no more games than rounds.
Spare players
With more players than places, the waves still wait for the set number of courts, even if a single court and four players are free. Your sit-out rules pick who sits each wave.
| Venue | Rounds | Court Waves (wait for 4) | Nights where everyone is within one game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 players, 8 courts | 3.7 games | 4.3 games | 60% |
| 40 players, 8 courts | 3.3 games | 4.0 games | 65% |
With this many spare players, Round Ahead plays about as many games (3.9 at 40 on 8) and keeps everyone within one game.
Late arrivals
A player who arrives late starts with the average number of games everyone has played, not zero, so they don't play wave after wave while the others sit. In simulations with 4 of 20 players arriving at minute 30, the late arrivals played 2.61 games after that and the others 2.47. Starting them at zero would have given them 3.30 against 2.29.
Players who leave or sit out are simply not in the next wave.
Court Waves with fixed partners
With fixed partners, a wave pairs the free teams by rating. Waits get shorter than with Round Ahead, but opponents are further apart and some teams meet twice.
16 fixed-partner teams on 8 courts
| Wait for | Games per team | Average rating gap | Rematches per night | Average / longest wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round Ahead (for comparison) | 4.9 | 0.26 | 0 | 3.5 / 20 min |
| 2 courts | 5.5 | 0.41 | 4.1 | 1.1 / 7 min |
| 3 courts | 5.2 | 0.34 | 3.2 | 2.5 / 10 min |
| 4 courts | 4.9 | 0.30 | 1.8 | 3.5 / 11 min |
| 5 courts | 4.4 | 0.27 | 0.4 | 5.9 / 16 min |
That is why Round Ahead is recommended for fixed partners.
What players see
A player who is waiting sees "The next games start when 4 courts are free" on their phone. The panel and the TV show the same line, with how many courts are free now.
How we measured: 100 to 300 simulated nights per row, 90 minutes of play, games to 11 lasting about 15 minutes (8 to 30), 1 minute between games, players rated 3.0 to 4.55. Our simulated mixer is simpler than the real one, so real nights usually repeat partners even less.