Hey picklers! Do you know that Pickleball the number of pickleball players in the US alone has grown 4 times in the span of just 5 years?
Here are the quick stats to blow your mind.
You can see how the popularity of pickleball has skyrocketed during the past decade.
If you haven’t paid attention in maths class, let me simplify the above image – It says that the USA has witnessed a rise in Pickleball players from 3.5 million players in 2019 to 13.6 million at the end of 2023.
Interestingly the YoY growth was a whopping 87% in 2022!
It is evident from above numbers that pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports not just in America but in the world right now.
Just like other professional sports ratings such as UTR in Tennis, USATT in Table tennis, there was a need for rating players in Pickleball too.
That’s when DUPR was created.
What is DUPR
In 2021, Steve Kuhn, founder of Major League Pickleball (MLP) created DUPR – “Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating”.
DUPR is a community of picklers, where they can register for free and start logging their matches by sharing results.
The algorithm of DUPR classifies players into 5 categories on scale of 2.0-8.0
- Novice: 2.0 to 3.0
- Intermediate: 3.0 to 4.0
- Advanced: 4.0 to 5.0
- Expert: 5.0 to 5.5
- Pro: 5.5+
This categorisation is on the basis of different factors such as Points Won, Win/Loss and Type of Result.
Type of result is decided by considering the type of match that you have played.
For example, if you self-post the result of a rec match the impact on rating will not be as significant as it would be in case of a league match or a sanctioned tournament.
DUPR considers the last 60 doubles matches (30 in case of singles) for calculating rating and weighs your most recent matches higher.
How do you get your DUPR?
First thing you need is to get registered on their website https://www.dupr.com/.
It’s a simple sign up process where you enter details such as name, age and email id and create an account.
After signing up, you’ll have to log a match with a player who is already rated on DUPR.
In case you are playing with someone who doesn’t have any rating, you’ll still be rated but it won’t be much accurate.
DUPR needs data to assess your skill level accurately. It won’t be until at least 20 matches you start seeing accurate ratings.
The algorithm works with simple logic
If you want to increase your rating faster
- Win by big difference rather than tight matches
- Defeat player who is ranked higher than you
If you lose to a lower ranking player, your ranking goes down.
Why is DUPR good?
DUPR has created a community of picklers who share the passion of pickleball on one platform. With more than million picklers registered, it becomes easier f
I like the feature where you can find players from your locality to follow them, message them or ask to partner with you in the game. You can also challenge any player using a filter tool.
Once registered you will be able to join clubs or participate in upcoming events directly from the platform.
Although DUPR doesn’t charge for any registrations to the members, it charges a certain percentage of registration fees to event organizers.
In case you decided to take a pause from the game or stopped logging matches, the rating will remain stable but reliability will decrease.
My opinion about DUPR
Pickleball is seeing a surge in popularity every passing year. It is due to the accessibility and simplicity of this wonderful game.
Watching grandpas in their 60s on the pickleball field has become a common sight nowadays, that’s because it has given them the option to go out and play with ease and without getting injured.
They don’t really care about what their rating is or what’s the rating of their opponent. They just want to enjoy it.
The point is – It’s not about numbers.
If you enjoy playing pickleball, there is absolutely no need to think about where you stand in terms of ratings. Just keep on playing.
Those who are professionals and participate in the events/ tournaments regularly, where numbers do matter, it becomes necessary to assess skill level in order to make sure it’s fair play.
What’s your DUPR? How long did it take for you to reach there? We would love to hear from you.
Comment below what you think about the rating system in the Pickleball.
