Judo Pro League 2025 competition schedule and rules

Created in 2022, the Judo Pro League is France's first mixed professional sports league. After a successful third edition and the victory of US Orléans Judo Loiret in a sold-out Paris Dojo, the Judo Pro League returns in October 2025 with 18 teams determined to win the title of French mixed team champion.
Find all the information you need to understand the Judo Pro League's competition schedule and rules.

Competition scheme:

Elimination stages
The elimination phases of the Judo Pro League 2025 include 18 teams into a single ranking. Each team will play 4 matches, 2 at home and 2 away, against opponents determined by the draw.
In the elimination phases, a win counts for 3 points, a draw for 1 point, and a defeat for 0 points. At the end of all matches, the eight highest-ranked teams qualify for the final table. In the event of a tie-break on points, the following tie-breaks apply:

• Number of fights won
• Number of points scored
• Number of Ippon
• Number of Shidos

Discover the Judo Pro League format in force since the 2024 edition:

Final stages
The final standings will be crucial in determining the quarter-final line-ups. Qualified teams will face off as follows:

• • QF 1: 1st vs. 8th
  • QF 2: 2nd vs. 7th
  • QF 3: 3rd vs. 6th
  • QF 4: 4th vs. 5th

A Final Four will be held at the Paris Dojo Arena, where the winners of the quarter-finals will face off:

• Winner QF 1 vs Winner QF 4
• Winner QF 2 vs Winner QF 3

Regulation:

Team composition
Each team must field athletes in the 10 regulatory weight categories:

• Women: -52kg, -57kg, -63kg, -70kg, +70kg
• Men: -66kg,-73kg, -81kg, -90kg, +90kg

Each franchise must submit its list of fighters for the entire competition before the Judo Pro League kicks off. They can enter up to 20 fighters (2 per category) for an evening's competition, including a maximum of 40% foreigners. At the end of the final phases, franchises may add two female and two male athletes for the remainder of the competition. These additions will have to be communicated and validated one week before the ¼ finals by the federation.
At weigh-in, a tolerance of 5% of the weight will be allowed per weight category.
An athlete can only fight for one franchise per season and all fighters must be club members (individual or team license)

Winning a fight
The fights will take place according to international arbitration rules with the following adaptations:

• A fight lasts 5 minutes with matte
• A 30-second time-out will be given at mid-fight.
• In the preliminary round, a fight that is tied at the end of the 5 minutes of regular time ends in a hiki-wake (draw). In the final round, the fight goes to Golden Score.

An athlete wins if :

• It marks ippon
• It marks 2 waza-ari
• He leads at the end of the 5-minute fight
• His opponent is sanctioned with a hansoku make (for 3 shidos or a direct disqualification).

Winning a match:
The team that wins a match is the one that has won the most bouts after 10 bouts. In the event of a tie in the number of victories, the teams may be separated by the number of points scored in the match. If the number of points also fails to decide the tie, a draw will be awarded.
From the quarter-finals onwards, in the event of a tie in the number of wins and points scored, a weight category will be drawn for a match to determine the winner.
During the Final Four, a match whose outcome is decided will be stopped before the end of the 10 fights.

Find out more complete rules of the Judo Pro League 2025/2026.