Configuring how results are scored (sets and result settings)

Every competition has scoring settings that tell MatchPoint how to read scores and decide a winner. Get these right before you enter any results – the most common scoring problem only appears later, when a match refuses to finalise.

Why this matters

MatchPoint decides a match by counting sets won and checking whether a side has reached the winning threshold (just over half of the maximum number of sets). If the maximum is set higher than the format you’re actually playing, no side can ever reach the threshold and the match will not finalise.

Set the number of sets

In the competition setup/edit wizard, open the Results Settings step and set the maximum sets to match your format:

• Best of 3 (first to 2 sets) → set maximum sets to 3 (threshold 2).
• Best of 5 (first to 3 sets) → set maximum sets to 5 (threshold 3).
• Single set / match tiebreak → set maximum sets to 1.

Watch out: the maximum often defaults to 5. For a best‑of‑3 event you must lower it to 3, or every finalise will fail with “Unable to finalise the side match”.

Results Settings step – set ‘Max number of sets’ to match your format (it defaults to 5).

Other scoring options

The remaining options usually only need attention if your event awards ladder/standings points:

• Scoring method – leave as sets for tennis‑style events.
• Points for win/loss/bye/forfeit – used to rank sides on a ladder; defaults are fine for a straight knockout.
• Tiebreak handling – set whether a tiebreak set awards a set point, if your rules require it.

Set the scoring options once, immediately after creating the competition and before any scoring. Changing them later means resetting and re‑scoring affected matches.