Troubleshooting and FAQ for competition administrators

The issues that come up most often when running competitions in MatchPoint, and what to do about them.

A match won’t finalise – “Unable to finalise the side match”.

Almost always the maximum number of sets is higher than the format you’re playing (e.g. set to 5 for a best‑of‑3 event), so no side reaches the winning threshold. Set the maximum sets correctly (3 for best‑of‑3), then reset and re‑score the affected match.

I entered a score but the match still shows as pending.

The match hasn’t been finalised, or the winner couldn’t be determined – usually the same maximum‑sets issue. Finalise the match; if it refuses, fix the scoring settings first.

My doubles teams came in as separate singles entries.

The competition was in Singles format when the entries were created. Change the format to Doubles, remove the stray entries (withdraw, then delete), and re‑create each pair. Always set the format before adding entries.

A doubles entry shows “1 of 2 players”.

The second player didn’t save. Open the entry and add the missing player again.

I can’t delete an entry – “Deleting a secured entry is prohibited”.

Secured entries are locked. Withdraw the entry first (this unlocks it), then delete it.

A secured entry isn’t showing when I try to place it in the draw.

Only fully secured entries appear in the competitor list. Check the entry completed all steps (player(s) added, primary contact set, secured).

The dashboard shows today’s date instead of my event dates.

Re‑open the competition’s edit form and re‑save the start and end dates.

My CSV import created a draw that looks wrong.

The importer resolves winner/loser references literally and doesn’t validate that they make bracket sense, so a mistyped reference imports cleanly but looks odd. Re‑check every W/L reference – they can only point backwards – and remember re‑importing wipes any results already entered.

Auto-generated knockout slots aren’t in the order I expected.

Auto‑generation uses standard seeded placement, which spreads seeds across the draw rather than pairing consecutive slots. To control the exact layout, build the schedule from a CSV instead.

A later-round fixture has no competitors.

An earlier match feeding it hasn’t been finalised. Finalise the upstream matches first; score from round 1 forward.

How do I handle a walkover or forfeit?

Enter a placeholder winning score for the advancing side (e.g. 4‑0, 4‑0) and finalise, so the bracket advances.