Someone typed the wrong score, or a scorer tapped the wrong player's point by mistake, and now a finished match shows the wrong result. This guide explains exactly what you can and cannot fix after a match is marked finished, and the steps to correct it.
What "finished" means
In PingPongArena, a match becomes finished once a result has been recorded for it — either because someone scored it live, point by point, or because the host typed in a final score manually (for example "11-6, 11-8"). Once a match is finished, its score is no longer editable in place. There is no text field where you click into the score and type a correction over the top of it.
The only way to fix a finished match: Revert to Unplayed
PingPongArena has one button for this: Revert to Unplayed. It appears on a finished match and does exactly what it says — it resets that specific match back to unplayed, the same state it was in before anyone scored it, so it can be scored again from scratch, either live or by typing in the correct final score.
There is no separate "edit the score" field. Correcting a result is always a two-step process: revert the match, then re-enter the correct result.
Steps to correct a match result
Find the match that has the wrong result — it will be shown as finished, usually with its final score displayed. Open that match and locate the Revert to Unplayed button, then tap it: the match's result is cleared and the match goes back to unplayed/idle status, ready to be scored again.
Re-enter the correct result — either score it live point by point using the scorer link or your own device, or type in the correct final score manually. Once the correct result is saved, the match is finished again with the right score, and anything downstream that depends on it, standings and brackets included, will now reflect the corrected result.
- Find the finished match showing the wrong result.
- Open it and tap Revert to Unplayed — the match returns to unplayed status.
- Re-enter the correct result, live or manually.
- Standings and brackets update automatically once the corrected result is saved.
What Revert to Unplayed does NOT do (known limit)
Revert to Unplayed is blocked once something else in the tournament already depends on that match's result. Specifically: if a later bracket round has already been played using the outcome of the match you want to revert, the app will not let you revert it directly. If finals have already been generated from the standings that this match's result fed into, the app will not let you revert it directly.
In both cases, the app shows a denial message explaining what has to be cleared first. You have to clear the dependent rounds or finals before the app will let you revert the earlier result. There is currently no "reset any match to 0:0 at any time, regardless of what's downstream" option — if a mistake is discovered after the bracket has moved on, expect to clear the later rounds/finals first, then revert and correct the original match, then regenerate what you cleared.
Practical takeaway: the earlier a scoring mistake is caught, the easier it is to fix. If you notice a wrong result immediately after it's entered, before the next round is generated or finals are created, Revert to Unplayed will work with no extra steps. If it's caught later, be prepared to clear and regenerate downstream rounds as part of the fix.
Where this shipped
This corrected-and-persisting version of Revert to Unplayed shipped in PingPongArena v1.46.0. An earlier version had a bug where the revert didn't actually persist — the old wrong result could reappear after reloading the page. That bug is fixed; reverting now persists correctly.
Common questions
Can I edit a finished match's score directly?
Not in place with a text field. You revert it to unplayed with the Revert to Unplayed button, then re-enter the correct result — a two-step process, not a single edit.
Why won't Revert to Unplayed work?
It's blocked when a later bracket round or a generated final stage already depends on that match's result. Clear the dependent round or final stage first, then revert.
Does reverting a match actually save, or can the old score come back?
As of v1.46.0 it persists correctly. An earlier version had a bug where the old result could reappear on reload; that bug is fixed.
What's the best time to catch a scoring mistake?
As soon as possible. Reverting a result before the next round is generated or finals are created works with no extra steps. Caught later, you'll need to clear and regenerate downstream rounds too.