When running a ladder in the TennisRungs platform, users may have two options to create a match depending on the ladder setup you chose.  

First let me explain the difference between the "competitive" ladder types and the "social" ladder types.  If you notice when you create a ladder, you can setup a ladder to be 1 of 3 types (Bump, Swap or Points-Based).  An explanation of these ladder types can be found in this article.

When running a ladder with a BUMP or SWAMP algorithm ONLY direct challenges can be made.  These ranking rules are best suited for very competitive club-based ladders. 

For those wanting a more "social" feel and the ability to allow their players to play more matches, you will want to setup a "Points-Based" Ladder.  When you do this, players can simply "PROPOSE" an open match on a particular Date/Time and/or Location. Other players on this ladder will then be alerted via email and can ACCEPT the proposal.  This can be done by a player by clicking the PROPOSE MATCH button.

When scores are reported for Points-Based ladders, players are awarded POINTS based on how you set these factors up when setting up the ladder.

The players are then ranked from the highest point total down.