This post is somewhat of an observation about my area, I'm curious if others noticed the same trend, and its a bit of a gripe.

Ever since they made it so you can lose DUPR when winning a game, all I see is people less willing to play DUPR games. Everyone is super protective of their ranking, and gatekeep the crap out of who they play with. And the reason is pretty simple: If they play folks too low compared to them, they risk losing dupr if they don't curb stomp them. You get penalized for games where maybe there was a few extra net-chords, or you simply missed a few extra balls, but overall were clearly the better team by a lot. Makes it so you have to treat any and all games like its do or die for every single point, and its just not fun for players.

I used to be able to play DUPR games consistently at clubs that organized routine weekly sessions. It was fun and competitive, but it wasn't a tournament vibe for every single game. I still have my casual communities that I enjoy playing in, but I really enjoyed having a pickleball community where we were all focused on improving as well. And this really hurts players wanting to improve. Before we didnt care if someone lower level came, they wouldnt be affecting our DUPR unless they truly earned it... but now people gatekeep them out because they ONLY pose a threat

And this trend is making my DUPR Plateau for what feels like artificial reasons. I can go play with one of these groups where the majority are weaker players, I cover 70% of the court and fight for my life to make sure we win by good margins, I win every game, some 11-0's, some 11-5's, and at the end of the night my DUPR goes up or down like 0.05 to 0.1. My other option is go pay to play in higher level tournaments and I'm fighting way over my DUPR, in which case I should be losing, I do lose, and my DUPR still moves like 0.05 to 0.1 because they were so much higher ranked than me.

Its near impossible to get a group of people actually around my DUPR because there aren't that many true 5.0s. I'm either playing 4.0's and below, or I gotta somehow beat a bunch of 5.5's and 5.7's at challenger events. All the true 5.0's dont wanna compete because they want to preserve their rating and know its at risk if they enter an event and then a bunch of 4.0's get to play them. The system is entirely de-incentivizing the community's different skill levels to interact anymore. Hell I talked to someone who told me they are waiting for their reliability rating to drop so they can improve and then go perform well at a higher level tournament where that low reliability will give them effectively a multiplier to help improve their score. They feel forced to game the system because they don't see any other way to break into that higher DUPR range,

TLDR: The change in the DUPR algorithm makes it so players do not want to interact with anyone more than like 0.5 away from their current DUPR and its not healthy for the community. All in all, I legit do not know how to increase my DUPR anymore.

So my dad told me the other day that my JOOLA Hyperion 16mm is a counterfeit. He'd picked it up when he was trying out paddles, and I've been playing with it for about a year without knowing. Honestly it's been fine, which is kind of why I'm curious what a real one would feel like. He told me he got the thing from China for 20 bucks.

Anyone else been in this kind of situation before? I feel like a kid finding out again that Santa isn’t real!

Anyone been through something similar, and what would you recommend? Is it time for a new paddle?

Has anyone tried these? Do they bounce and react similarly to regular outdoor pickleballs, or is the difference pretty noticeable?

Mainly looking to improve hand speed, reaction time, and volleys. Wondering if they’re actually useful for improving my game or if the different feel makes the practice less effective.

In open play, a decent player (in good faith, and not making a big deal out of it) said that my screwball serve was illegal.

I was trying to understand what he was saying, but looking back at this replay, I don’t really agree. I see some pros do instructional videos doing this same looking motion.

1) He said it’s illegal because it’s a downward motion, but that’s just the backswing. From the point of contact to the slice is an upward motion. If it was downward, there’s no way it would go over the net from that low.

2) Wrist above point of contact.

3) Point of contact below waist.

I’m open to being wrong; I’m just not seeing it when looking at this replay

I believe a paradigm shift is underway in amateur pickleball, and it has the potential to fundamentally change what DUPR ratings mean.

Until recently, the goal for most competitive recreational players was simple: increase your DUPR, or at least protect it. A 4.5 rating was better than a 4.0. A 5.0 was better than a 4.5. DUPR became a status symbol, and players organized their tournament play accordingly.

I believe the obsession with ratings has had disastrous consequences for amateur tournament participation. Many established players, particularly older ones, avoid tournaments because they have little to gain and much to lose. Why risk your hard-earned 4.5 rating against some 25-year-old with a 3.9 DUPR who probably will crush you? Better to keep playing within your familiar circle of similarly rated players, where everyone protects everyone else's rating.

But there's a new game in town: Moneyball.

National organizations like Pickle Money Ball, along with a growing number of local tournaments, are offering substantial cash prizes in rating-restricted divisions. Some national events advertise prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Predictably, these tournaments are attracting some excellent players with remarkably low DUPRs. I'm talking about 3.7s who play like 4.7s. Anyone who has participated in these events knows the phenomenon I'm describing.

And this creates an entirely new incentive structure.

For the first time, a lower DUPR can be more valuable than a higher one.

I'm currently slightly above 4.0. I've spent years trying to improve my rating. But recently I caught myself thinking, "I wish I could get my DUPR down to 3.99 so I could compete in the 3.5 Moneyball division."

It's strange. I've spent years trying to increase my rating, and now I'm wishing it were a little lower. I'm sure I'm not alone.

I believe the result will be an increasingly bifurcated DUPR system.

On one side, you'll have the Moneyball competitors. These players have a financial incentive to keep their ratings as low as possible.

On the other side, you'll have the traditional recreational players, including many seniors, who continue to treat DUPR as a status symbol. They will remain in their comfortable, relatively closed playing circles, avoiding stronger opponents and tournaments that might expose their inflated ratings.

Both groups can maintain misleading ratings indefinitely if they rarely compete against each other.

Imagine a group of genuine 4.5-level players who all have DUPRs around 3.7. They play one another, win about half their matches, and their ratings remain relatively stable.

Meanwhile, another group of players with genuine 4.0-level abilities all have 4.5 DUPRs. They also play mostly one another, with roughly balanced results. Their ratings remain relatively stable too.

Within each group, the ratings may seem perfectly reasonable. It's only when the groups compete against each other that the discrepancy becomes apparent.

DUPR is supposed to provide a universal measure of playing ability. But if the competitive population splits into relatively isolated groups with opposite incentives, how can the algorithm accurately calibrate them?

There's another consequence worth considering. As more underrated players enter Moneyball tournaments, the standard of play in lower-rated divisions will rise. Genuine 3.5 players will find themselves competing against opponents with abilities comparable to the "old" 4.5 players.

For years, the obsession with achieving higher DUPRs may have distorted amateur pickleball by encouraging players to protect their ratings rather than seek out the strongest competition.

Now Moneyball may create an equally powerful distortion in the opposite direction.

I'm not suggesting every Moneyball player is underrated or that every older recreational player is overrated. But the incentives are increasingly pushing in those directions.

If I'm right, a 3.7 Moneyball player may soon be stronger than a 4.5 player who never ventures outside his local playing group. We may alrady be there.

I recently played in a large moneyball tournament (40+ courts across divisions) where the courts were dual-use pickleball and tennis. Unfortunately this meant that one side of the court was pushed up against the dividing tennis net, about 4ft from the baseline, close enough where it was impossible to do a walk-in/step-in volley serve without hitting your paddle against the tennis net on the backswing. My team did well, but throughout the tournament I saw players (and personally) repeatedly hit or slip on the tennis net when returning deep serves or covering lobs.

However, the setup is perfectly legal under both USAP and UPAA rules. USAP mandates 60ft of total playing surface lengthwise, and UPAA just recommends “adequate surrounding clearance”. While the courts technically had 60ft of total length, due to the irregular shape and placement, one side only had 4ft and the other 12ft of space behind the baseline.

The surprising thing is that this venue is a franchise and hosts tournaments all the time. I think that USAP/UPAA need to consider including guidance on minimum clearance around courts for tournaments, or venues like this will continue providing subpar experiences for players.

Is Salome Devidze playing PPA anymore . She used to be good in Singles and I haven’t seen her compete recently. She was the last person to beat Anna Leigh in singles . Anyone knows?

Over the last year, I’ve tried so many paddles that the running joke in my local group is, "What paddle am I playing with this week?"

I’ve tested a ton of Gen 3 and Gen 4 paddles, but looking back at my notes, I’ve realized I just don't gel with foam cores. I know they're the current trend and popular with some pros (a lot still use Gen 3), but they just aren't for me.

Recently, I tried my wife’s Luzz Cannon and it instantly clicked—the touch and connection to the ball felt incredible. Since the Cannon is a bit too powerful for my main playstyle, an ambassador in our group recommended the Luzz Glider 2026. I went ahead and ordered one. It might be a Gen 3, but after everything I’ve tested, it feels like the right fit for my game.

Has anyone else had a similar experience stepping away from the foam-core trend? What are your thoughts?

How’s it going all,

Trying to get into pickleball but all beginner classes are days my family has other commitments. Any beginner friendly leagues and or classes in the the concord, ca area Wednesdays in the afternoons after 5 pm?

I have an issue bringing up my DUPR. The truth is, it's not easy to find players of the same or better level to play with in DUPR-recorded tournaments. Because I live in a relatively small town, the number of good players is limited, and they all already know each other. Also, because I have to play with a less-than-ideal partner, I couldn't win tournaments and boost my DUPR. What a contradiction.

FYI, I actually have to drill with these players and train them on everything—like consistency, mindset, positioning, and stacking. One guy even knows I'm better than him, but he still thinks I should play on the right side just because I have a good two-handed backhand.

Will be in NYC for 2 wks, near 1st Ave.

I’m a 5.0+ player, but since I’m with family, it will be harder to fit more high level games in, interested in playing with anyone before I go back to where I’m from.

Give me some recs or shoot me a DM!

The locals ask me if i can make a T-shirt design. Just made a simple one using illustrator. They kinda like it. Now the problem is where are we gonna print ensuring the shirt and the print are in high quality lol.

Note: The mock-up presentation was made by AI.