When looking at the tables of a padel tournament, two terms come up regularly:  alternate  et  lucky loser . While they both refer to specific cases of players included in a competition, their operation is very different.

The alternate: a waiting list

The statute  alternate  corresponds to a pair registered but who could not join the qualifying draw or the main draw due to lack of space. These teams are placed on the waiting list according to their ranking.
If a registered pair withdraws before the start of the tournament (injury, forfeit, travel problem), the first team on the alternate list takes its place directly.

The lucky loser: a draftee from the qualifiers

Le  lucky loser , is a team that participated in the qualifications but lost.
If a spot becomes available in the main draw after the end of qualifying, the best losers from the final round may be eligible for the repechage, depending on their ranking and sometimes based on a random draw.

Two statuses not to be confused

  •  Alternate  = team outside the tournament, waiting for a place to become available before kick-off.
  •  Lucky loser  = team that has already played in qualifying, eliminated, but which can re-enter the main draw in the event of a qualified team withdrawing.

In summary,  the alternate has not yet played , while the  lucky loser has already lost but gets a second chance 

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