Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Everything people ask about running Survivor and Bracket pools on TennisPools — rules, deadlines, the weird tennis edge cases, and what it costs. Can't find your answer? Email hello@tennispools.com.
The basics
What is a tennis survivor pool?
A tennis survivor pool is a Last Man Standing game played over a Grand Slam. Each round of the tournament, every member picks one player who must win their match. A right pick keeps you alive; a wrong pick — or a missed pick — knocks you out, and no player can be used twice. A Grand Slam has seven rounds (Round 1 through the final), and the last member standing wins the pool. It's the simplest way to sweat a whole tournament with friends.
What is a tennis bracket pool?
A tennis bracket pool (or bracket challenge) is a game where you predict match winners and the bracket scores itself as real matches finish. Points double every round, so calling the champion matters most, and the highest total after the final wins. TennisPools offers two formats — Full Draw and Sweet 16 — plus a Bracket Scores variant that also rewards exact set scores.
What is the difference between a survivor pool and a bracket pool?
A survivor pool is an elimination game: one pick per round, wrong pick and you're out, last member standing wins — it plays round by round over the two weeks. A bracket pool is a prediction game: you fill in the winners once, the bracket scores itself, and the highest points total wins. Survivor is quick and tense; bracket rewards knowing the whole draw. Many crews run one of each.
Which tournaments can I play?
TennisPools launches with the US Open 2026 — men's and women's singles, 128 players in each draw. The Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon follow, with the same pool formats at every Grand Slam.
Do I need to download an app?
No. TennisPools is a Progressive Web App (PWA) that runs in the browser on any phone, tablet, or computer — nothing to install from an app store. On a phone you can add it to your home screen for an app-like icon and full-screen experience, but it's optional. All you need is a free account, created with your email or a Google sign-in.
Bracket formats and scoring
What is the difference between the Full Draw and Sweet 16 formats?
Full Draw is all 127 matches from Round 1: you predict every winner, picks lock at the tournament's first ball, and points run 5 in Round 1 then double every round — 10, 20, 40 (Round of 16), 80 (quarterfinals), 160 (semifinals), 320 (final) — for a maximum of 2,240 points. Sweet 16 is a shorter Round-of-16-onward game: 15 picks, opening once the R16 field is set and locking at the first Round-of-16 match, for a maximum of 1,280 points. The commissioner chooses one format when the pool is created.
How does the Sweet 16 (Round of 16) pool work?
Sweet 16 skips the early rounds and starts at the Round of 16, so you pick from real matchups instead of guessing a whole draw. Picks open once the Round of 32 is done and the R16 field is set: you choose the winner of each of the 8 Round-of-16 matches (40 points each), then the 4 quarterfinal winners (80 each), the 2 semifinal winners (160 each), and the champion (320) — 15 picks and up to 1,280 points. Because it starts later, you can create or join one any time up until the first Round-of-16 match, which is also when picks lock.
How does Full Draw scoring work — and what is the maximum score?
In Full Draw, every correct pick scores that round's value and the value doubles each round: 5 in Round 1, then 10, 20, 40 (Round of 16), 80 (quarterfinals), 160 (semifinals), and 320 for the final. Because there are 64 Round 1 matches and only one final, every round is worth the same 320-point total — so early accuracy and the champion call both matter. A perfect bracket scores 2,240 points.
What is Bracket Scores?
Bracket Scores is a bracket variant where you call the winner AND the exact set score of every match — 3-0, 3-1, or 3-2 in men's best-of-five-set matches; 2-0 or 2-1 in women's best-of-three. Getting the winner right scores the round's normal points; nailing the exact set score too pays half the round's points again (a correct 80-point quarterfinal becomes 120). If a match ends in a retirement or walkover, the set-score bonus is voided for that match, but the winner points still count in full.
Is there an autofill for the Full Draw?
Yes. Filling out 127 picks sounds like work, so a one-tap autofill starts your Full Draw bracket from the favorites. From there you just flip the upsets you believe in — most members finish a full bracket in a few minutes.
Survivor rules and strategy
Can I use the same player twice in a survivor pool?
No. Every player can be used only once per tournament. Spend the world number 1 in Round 1 and they're gone for the rest of the two weeks — which is exactly what makes survivor get harder as the draw thins out.
Can I start a survivor pool after the US Open has begun?
Yes. Because survivor plays round by round, a pool can start mid-tournament — any time up until the Round of 16 begins. It simply starts at the next round: if you create one during the Round of 32, that round becomes the pool's Round 1, everyone picks from there, and the earlier rounds don't count. It's a great way to rally friends once the tournament is heating up. (Bracket pools work differently — Full Draw must be started before the first ball, and Sweet 16 before the first Round-of-16 match.)
What is a good survivor strategy?
Plan all seven rounds before Round 1, not just the next pick. Spend mid-tier seeds (roughly ranked 10 through 30) on the easy early matches, and save the world's top two or three players for the Round of 16 onward, when every match is seed against seed and there are no safe picks left. Men's matches are best of five sets, which favors the stronger player even more; women's are best of three, so early upsets are slightly more common.
Deadlines and scoring
When do picks lock?
Full Draw bracket picks lock at the tournament's first ball — for the US Open 2026 that is Sunday, August 30, with the draw published around August 27. Sweet 16 opens once the Round of 16 field is set and locks at the first Round-of-16 match, so you can even start or join one mid-tournament. Survivor picks lock round by round, at each round's first match, and you can change a pick any time before it locks. TennisPools emails a reminder before every deadline.
How does live scoring work?
Every match is scored automatically. As results come in, TennisPools grades survivor picks and bracket predictions for you and updates the leaderboard live — no spreadsheets, no manual entry, and no arguments over who got what. You just watch the standings move as the tennis happens.
What happens if a player retires mid-match or gives a walkover?
Tennis rules apply: whoever advances counts as the winner. In a survivor pool, you're safe if you picked the advancing player. In a bracket pool, a pick on the advancing player scores full points. In Bracket Scores, the exact-score bonus is voided for that match only — the winner points still count in full.
What if everyone left in a survivor pool loses in the same round?
The pool still ends with a winner. By default the members who still made a pick that round win over anyone who didn't (a pick beats no pick); or the commissioner can choose to split the pot among everyone who fell together. Eliminations only apply when at least one member survived the round, so a survivor pool always crowns someone — one last member standing, or co-champions.
How are ties broken in a bracket pool?
With a tiebreaker submitted alongside your picks: predict the total number of games played in the final — every game in every set, both players combined. If two members finish level on points, the prediction closest to the real total without going over wins the tie.
Running a pool
How do I invite friends to my pool?
Creating a pool takes about a minute and gives you an invite code plus a share link — anyone with the link can join. Pools are private by default (invite only), or you can make yours public so anyone on TennisPools can find and join it.
Can my pool follow the women's draw?
Yes. Every pool follows exactly one singles draw — men's or women's, chosen by the commissioner when the pool is created. Want to play both the men's and women's draws? Create two pools; each takes about a minute.
Can I be in more than one pool?
Yes — you can join or run as many pools as you like from one free account: a men's survivor pool with your family, a women's bracket pool with coworkers, a Bracket Scores pool with your group chat. Each pool has its own members, leaderboard, and settings.
Can members submit more than one entry?
If the commissioner allows it. Multiple entries can be switched on when the pool is created — up to 10 per member — and each entry plays separately on the leaderboard, so one person can run several brackets or survivor lines in the same pool.
Money
How much does TennisPools cost?
Pools with up to 5 members are completely free. Bigger pools pay a one-time hosting fee of $2 per member beyond the first 5, paid by the commissioner — a 20-member pool costs $30 total for the whole tournament. Members never pay TennisPools anything.
Does TennisPools take a cut of the prize pot?
No — never. Entry fees are 100% between the commissioner and the members: the commissioner sets the buy-in, collects it directly through Venmo, Zelle, or whatever the group uses, and pays out the winners. TennisPools tracks who has paid and keeps the standings honest, but takes nothing from the pot. Some platforms take around 10% of your prize pot; TennisPools takes nothing from it.
Who holds the prize money?
The commissioner does — not TennisPools. We never touch entry fees or prize money; the commissioner collects buy-ins directly from members and pays out the winners. TennisPools is just the scoreboard and the payment tracker, so everyone can see who has paid.
Accounts
Do I need an account to play?
Yes — a free account, created with your email or a Google sign-in, is all you need to join or start a pool. There is no app to install: TennisPools runs in the browser on any phone or computer, and you can add it to your home screen for an app-like experience.
Ready when you are
The US Open 2026 draw is released around August 27 and the first ball is Sunday, August 30. Set your pool up now — it takes a minute.