The pickleball algorithm known as DUPR is an ingenius and an addictive aspect to pickleball. It is a global rating system that keeps many competitive pickleball players (including myself) chasing a higher rating. As a current 4.0 in doubles and 4.1 in Singles here are some different ways I’ve found to increase your rating.
- Play DUPR round robin scramble formats – These can be a bit stressful due to the limited time (15 minutes) and the number of rounds. On the positive you get a lot of rounds in with players in your DUPR range to level up if you win
- Play DUPR tournaments – Play high level tournaments. I recently played a 4.0 DUPR tournament in Vancouver called Kitsfest. It was DUPR restricted, and I was below 4.0 but my partner was above 4.0 so I was able to qualify. So the hack is if you’re partner is higher you can player higher level opponents that can potentially boost your rating. I recently played my first singles tournament in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia not rated (NR) in 5.0 mens. I actually have a competitive tennis background and had done well in singles practice against 4.0 men so this was a good test. While I didn’t win any of the singles matches I was competitive and won points in 2 out of 3 and that was good enough to leave me 4.172. I’m now trying to build on this rating during the DUPR reset window by playing singles 4.0 DUPR to build my reliability up.
- Play DUPR consistently – Increase your DUPR reliability rating so your rating will eventually level off and won’t fluctuate so much as you win and loose.
- Play with players better than yourself – Easier said that done. The better players want to play with better players usually. You can social engineer your way into those circles and cliques if your skills are up there. You can get invited to play with them at a public court with open play. Sometimes you may get invited to play as lower level players need a higher level player to match up with that one 4.0+ person. As a higher level player sometimes it’s good to accept those invites and continue to play with your friends that haven’t been as fortunate with DUPR. That good karma leads to opportunities.
Increasing your DUPR rating takes time, energy, and money to build up. Whether it is tournaments and round robins these events usually cost more than just open play rec games. The benefits to DUPR are that you get to meet other similar level players no matter where you are in the world.
Of course it also helps to improve your fitness & conditioning and pickleball game whether it is taking lessons, or watching videos of yourself to learn and adjust. Personally I watch and commentate on my own video to notice patterns or strategies that work. I play with a variety of players at different courts, leagues, and facilities to get exposed to different playing styles. I also have my pickleball online course where I share a lot of pickleball knowledge on fundamentals and advanced techniques.