Play-offs — three champions
Three separate titles are decided after the round-robin season wraps: Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Each one ends in a champion pair.
Every event shares the same backbone — a round-robin group (the "semis") that re-seeds the players, then a single balanced final where the group's best and worst are split onto opposite teams. It is the classic ATP/WTA Finals idea: a group stage, then a final. Because the season ranks individuals (partners rotate all year), the play-off never invents fixed teams — it needs the top people, and pairs them on the night. The events differ only in how many enter the group: Men's and Women's each take the top 4; Mixed takes the top 2 men + top 2 women.
| Event | Who qualifies | Semis (round-robin) | The final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Doubles | Top 4 of the men's ladder | 3 matches — everyone partners everyone | Balanced pair: R1 + R4 vs R2 + R3 |
| Women's Doubles | Top 4 of the women's ladder | 3 matches — everyone partners everyone | Balanced pair: R1 + R4 vs R2 + R3 |
| Mixed Doubles | Top 2 men + top 2 women | 2 matches — each man partners each woman once | Balanced pair: #1 man + #2 woman vs #2 man + #1 woman |
Men's Doubles
Top 4 · round-robin → finalThe four highest-ranked men on the season ladder qualify — call them Q1–Q4 (Q1 is the season #1). They play a three-match round-robin as the "semis" — everyone partners everyone — then re-seed into one balanced final. Because the season ranks people, the play-off needs the top four men, not eight fixed team-mates.
Stage 1 · The round-robin group (the "semis")
The four qualifiers play everyone-partners-everyone — three doubles matches, each man partnering each of the other three exactly once:
| Match | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q1 + Q2 | Q3 + Q4 |
| 2 | Q1 + Q3 | Q2 + Q4 |
| 3 | Q1 + Q4 | Q2 + Q3 |
The three matches produce a fresh 1–4 order (R1–R4), scored by the season rules — Win %, then Games %, then head-to-head, then countback — with ties going to the higher season seed.
Stage 2 · The final
The re-ranked order sets the same balanced final — strongest with weakest:
The winning pair are the Men's Doubles champions. The higher season seed keeps the #1 courtesy — choice of ends and first serve.
Women's Doubles
Top 4 · round-robin → finalThe women's play-off runs on the same four-player format — the top four of the women's ladder (Q1–Q4) play a three-match round-robin, then re-seed into a balanced final. The smaller women's draw fits this shape perfectly, because it needs four people, not eight fixed team-mates.
Stage 1 · The round-robin group (the "semis")
The four qualifiers play everyone-partners-everyone — three doubles matches, each woman partnering each of the other three exactly once:
| Match | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q1 + Q2 | Q3 + Q4 |
| 2 | Q1 + Q3 | Q2 + Q4 |
| 3 | Q1 + Q4 | Q2 + Q3 |
The three matches produce a fresh 1–4 order (R1–R4), scored by the season rules — Win %, then Games %, then head-to-head, then countback — with ties going to the higher season seed.
Stage 2 · The final
The re-ranked order sets the same balanced final — strongest with weakest:
The winning pair are the Women's Doubles champions. The higher season seed keeps the #1 courtesy — choice of ends and first serve.
Mixed Doubles
Top 2 M + Top 2 W · round-robin → finalThe mixed rankings send the top 2 men and top 2 women from the mixed ladder to a four-player round-robin — label them M1, M2 (men) and W1, W2 (women). Each man partners each woman once, so the "semis" are just two matches, and every player plays both.
Stage 1 · The round-robin group (the "semis")
Two matches settle the group — each man partners each woman exactly once, so everyone plays both nights:
| Semi match | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | M1 + W1 | M2 + W2 |
| 2 | M1 + W2 | M2 + W1 |
The two matches produce a fresh order of the four — an updated #1/#2 man and #1/#2 woman — scored by the season rules (Win %, then Games %, then head-to-head, then countback), with ties going to the higher season seed.
Stage 2 · The final
The re-ranked order sets a balanced mixed final — the top man plays with the second woman, and the second man with the top woman, so the two teams are as even as possible:
The winning pair are the Mixed Doubles champions. The higher season seed keeps the #1 courtesy — choice of ends and first serve.
Fully settled: three champion pairs. Men's and Women's each take the top 4 into a three-match round-robin; Mixed takes the top 2 men + top 2 women into a two-match round-robin. All three re-seed the group and finish with a balanced paired final.