There are two separate changes behind this, and they can affect players in different ways.
1. Playing players who are still being calibrated no longer moves your level
What changed: If you’re an established player and you play someone whose level is still being calibrated, your level will no longer move as a result of that match. Their level will still update as normal.
Why we changed it: We got requests to make sure experienced players could play newer players, or players still being calibrated, without any risk to their own level. That way you can play anyone you like — help them get started, give them a game — without worrying about it affecting your own rating.
Before this change, playing someone still being calibrated could move your level up or down, depending on the result.
What this means for you: If you’ve played a lot of players who were still being calibrated in the past, this change may shift your level slightly. Some players who’d worked their way up partly through these matches may see a small drop. Others who’d been dragged down by them may see a small rise. Either way, we think this is the fairer approach going forward.
2. Interclub calibration has been switched on properly for padel
What changed: We’ve extended the interclub calibration system — the part of the algorithm that keeps levels consistent between different clubs — to work properly for padel doubles. This was already working well for squash singles, but padel doubles has its own nuances, and when padel first launched, this calibration wasn’t fully active for it.
Why we changed it: Without full interclub calibration, levels at different clubs weren’t always properly comparable to each other. This update fixes that.
What this means for you: Because calibration works at the club level, some clubs will move up slightly and some will move down, and everyone at that club moves with it — including players who’ve been anchored by a club admin. This isn’t about individual performance; it’s the whole club being recalibrated against others.
Your ranking relative to other players at your own club should stay much the same. What may change is where your club sits relative to other clubs overall.
In short:
- Playing players who are still being calibrated is now “safe” for your own level — only theirs moves.
- Padel doubles now has the same club-to-club calibration that squash singles has always had, so some clubs (and everyone in them) have shifted up or down slightly as a result.
If you have questions about a specific level change, get in touch and we can take a look.