Best Tally Counter for Racquet Sports

What makes a great racquet sport scoring app?

Racquet sports share similar scoring patterns but with sport-specific rules:

• Two-player scoring — separate counters for each player with clear labeling.
• Game + match tracking — separate counters for point score and games won (squash best-of-5, badminton best-of-3).
• Custom step amounts — most are +1, but some formats allow +2 for serving aces.
• Set counter to value — handle deuce scenarios (10-10 in squash/TT, 20-20 in badminton) or reset after a game.
• Multiple counters — track both point score and game/set count simultaneously.
• Undo last tap — fast rallies and let calls mean occasional mis-taps.
• Sound + haptic feedback — know the tap registered without looking at the screen, crucial on noisy courts.
• Fullscreen display — readable scoreboard for courtside or on the tin.
• Offline mode — basement squash courts and outdoor pickleball courts often have poor signal.

Racquet sport scoring features — compared

We tested each app across badminton (21-point games), pickleball (11-point rally scoring), squash (11-point PAR), and table tennis (11-point).

The verdict

Squash scoring with a tally counter

Squash uses Point-a-Rally (PAR) scoring in most modern formats — games to 11 points, best of 5 games, with a 2-point lead required at 10-10. That means you need a counter that supports:

• Two named counters — one per player, labeled with names or "Player 1 / Player 2."
• Multiple counter groups — separate counters for the current game score and the games-won tally (e.g., Player A leads 2-1 in games, currently 7-5 in the fourth).
• Set-to-any-value — essential for correcting mis-taps or resetting after a game ends.
• Undo — fast rallies and let calls make mistakes inevitable.
• Sound + haptic feedback — glass-back courts are loud; you need to feel the tap register.

DigitalTallyCounter.com handles all of this: create four counters (Game Score A, Game Score B, Games Won A, Games Won B), configure +1 steps, and use fullscreen mode so the phone can sit on the tin or scoring desk. The offline PWA means it works in basement courts with no signal. DTC doesn't automate the "win by 2" rule at 10-10 — you manage that manually — but for club matches, social games, and league nights, it's a fast and free courtside scoreboard.

Pickleball scoring with a tally counter

Pickleball uses side-out scoring (only the serving team can score) in traditional rules, or rally scoring to 11 in newer MLP/PPA formats. Either way, you need two team counters and a way to track who's serving.

Set up two named counters ("Us" and "Them"), configure +1 step, and use fullscreen mode so the phone can sit on the net post or a chair. Undo handles the common "wait, who served?" corrections. For doubles, you can create four counters — one per player — though most casual games just use two. DTC doesn't track the third number (server 1 vs server 2 in side-out), so you'll need to remember that yourself.

Badminton scoring

Badminton uses rally scoring to 21 points, best of 3 games, with a 2-point advantage required at 20-20 (capped at 30). The scoring is straightforward — every rally awards a point — making it a natural fit for a tally counter.

Create two named counters, set a goal of 21, and use the set-to-any-value feature to handle deuce situations at 20-20. The fullscreen mode works well propped against the net post. For club tournaments where you're running multiple courts, create separate counter groups per court.

Table tennis (ping pong) scoring

Table tennis uses rally scoring to 11 points, best of 5 or 7 games, with a 2-point advantage at 10-10. Service alternates every 2 points (every point at deuce). Games are short and fast — you need a counter that keeps up.

The same two-counter setup works here: name them after players, set a goal of 11, and tap away. At 10-10, the goal doesn't auto-extend, but the set-to-any-value feature lets you keep going past 11 until someone leads by 2. Haptic feedback is especially useful for table tennis — rallies are fast enough that you want to feel the tap register without looking down.

Racquetball and paddleball

Racquetball uses side-out scoring to 15 points (only the server scores), with a tiebreaker game to 11. Paddleball follows similar rules. Since only one side scores at a time, a tally counter with undo is useful for correcting accidental taps when the receiver wins the rally.

Set up two named counters and configure +1 step. The fullscreen display works well in indoor courts. For tournament play where you need shareable scoreboards, consider KeepTheScore.com — its live URL sharing lets spectators follow from outside the court.