The Ladder format is built for a drop-in night — players arrive and leave at different times, and there's no fixed bracket to wait for. In the app it's called a "Kings Table" system: the winner climbs toward the top table, the loser drops down one.
If you're after table tennis ladder rules for a club or a live scoring app table tennis club members can use for casual, ongoing play, this guide covers the ladder-specific setup and how the rotation actually works.
Step 1 — Pick Ladder
On the wizard's Step 1 splash screen, tap the Ladder card. Add your players the normal way, whether that's the standard add-player form or faster bulk entry for a long roster.
Step 2 — Ladder-specific settings
A section appears below the player list that only shows for Ladder events.
- Match Format steppers — Available tables: how many tables can play simultaneously, which decides how many ladder tables exist to climb between. Best of sets: must-win majority, odd numbers 1–11.
- Ladder Options toggles — Clarify All Winners: when you stop the ladder, this generates Gold and Silver/Bronze finals from the top two tables, instead of just reading medals off the final table order. Track Consolation Winner: displays a "Table 3 champion," decided by whoever had the longest consecutive win streak on that table.
- Ladder skips the Match Format / Group Setup steps that Classic Groups and Doubles go through — from here, tap Start Tournament directly.
How the rotation actually works
This is the app's own explanation, word for word, shown in the Ladder Rotation Rules panel: "Win to climb a table. The challenger drops to the table below for a fresh duel. Hold the Kings Table by winning."
Broken into the three rules it lists: the top table is the Kings Table, and whoever holds it is the current leader; bottom-table rotation stays put, with the lowest table drawing its next challenger from the bench rather than dropping further; and middle tables exchange upward and downward movers, where a winner moves up one table and a loser moves down one.
This is a genuine two-way ladder — winners climb, losers drop — not a "winner stays at the table, challenger rotates in" king-of-the-hill system. If you've used a different club's paper ladder before, check which rule it used; PPA's rule is the two-way climb described above.
While the ladder is running
Round N — Current shows the round in progress; On Bench lists players waiting for their next table. Each table shows a Playing or Ready status. A Standings subtab ranks players live by ladder position and rounds played, with an "· in progress" note while the ladder is still open.
Stopping the ladder
Tap Stop Tournament. A confirm dialog reads: "This will end the ladder phase and generate the finals bracket. Ladder matches can no longer be added." Confirm with Stop & generate finals.
If you turned on Clarify All Winners, a knockout bracket is drawn from the top two tables; otherwise final results come straight from the last ladder standings. Final results show as Gold / Silver / Bronze medals, with a 3rd place / bronze line for the consolation table if that toggle was on.
Honest limits
Once the ladder is stopped, no more ladder matches can be added — there is no "resume the ladder" path back from a generated finals bracket.
The ladder format is available on every plan, including Free, but Free's overall 16-player event cap still applies.
Common questions
What are the table tennis ladder rules for a club?
It's a two-way "Kings Table" climb: the winner of a match moves up one table, the loser drops down one, the top table is the Kings Table held by the current leader, and the bottom table draws its next challenger from the bench rather than dropping further.
Is PPA's ladder a king-of-the-hill system?
No. It's a genuine two-way ladder where winners climb and losers drop between tables, not a system where the winner stays put and challengers simply rotate in.
How does a ladder night end?
Tap Stop Tournament and confirm. If Clarify All Winners was on, a knockout final is drawn from the top two tables; otherwise medals come straight from the last ladder standings, as Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Is Ladder available on the Free plan?
Yes. Ladder is available on every plan including Free, though Free's overall 16-player event cap still applies.
What is the "Table 3 champion"?
It's the Track Consolation Winner feature: whoever had the longest consecutive win streak on the third table is shown as that table's champion when the ladder ends.