New DUPR Data Shows Where Your Rating Ranks Among Rated Players, and Most of Them Sit in the 3s
- Data DUPR gave The Dink shows 53% of rated doubles players sit in the 3s, and the most common band is 3.000 to 3.499 at 29%.
- A 4.0 rating puts a player in the top 16%, a 4.5 in the top 5%, and a 5.0 in the top 1%.
- The figures cover global DUPR users with a result in the previous 12 months and doubles ratings only.
Most Rated Pickleball Players Live in the 3s, New DUPR Percentiles Show
Players who wonder where their DUPR rating falls now have a distribution to check it against. The Dink published new percentile data on October 7, in a piece by Thomas Shields, who is the founder of The Dink and Upswing Sports and hosts PicklePod with Zane Navratil. DUPR provided the data to The Dink in October 2026, and it had not been published before.
The headline numbers are simple. About 1% of rated players are 5.0 or higher. About 5% are 4.5 or higher, and about 16% are 4.0 or higher. The most common band is 3.000 to 3.499, which holds 29% of rated players. For anyone sitting at a 3.5 or a 3.8 and feeling behind, the data says they are in the middle of the pack.
What the Data Covers
The data snapshot is dated September 22, 2026. It includes global DUPR users who have a result in the previous 12 months. It covers doubles ratings only. The figures are whole-number percentages, so any derived figure is a rough one.
DUPR’s scale runs from 2.000 to 8.000. The data does not break down the 5.0 and higher group any further.
The Full Doubles Distribution
Here is how rated doubles players split across the bands, as reported by The Dink:
- 2.0 to 2.49: 11%
- 2.5 to 2.99: 20%
- 3.0 to 3.49: 29%
- 3.5 to 3.99: 24%
- 4.0 to 4.49: 11%
- 4.5 to 4.99: 4%
- 5.0 and higher: 1%
Add the two bands that start with a 3 and the total is 53%. More than half of all rated players, in other words, hold a rating in the 3s. Shields draws the conclusion directly: “A 3-something isn’t an amateurish outlier; it’s where the majority of rated players live.”
How Many Players Sit at or Above Each Level
The cumulative figures show how quickly the field thins as ratings rise:
- 3.0 and higher: 69%
- 3.5 and higher: 40%
- 4.0 and higher: 16%
- 4.5 and higher: 5%
- 5.0 and higher: 1%
Flip those numbers and the share below each mark comes into view. Some 31% of rated players are below 3.0, and 60% are below 3.5. Another way to say it: 84% have not reached 4.0. Shields highlights four of these figures: 60% of rated doubles players are below 3.5, 84% are below 4.0, 95% are below 4.5, and 99% are below 5.0.
The Percentile Ladder
Percentiles translate a rating into a rank. According to the data, a 3.0 sits at the 31st percentile and a 3.5 at the 60th. A 4.0 reaches the 84th percentile, a 4.5 the 95th, and a 5.0 the 99th.
For a player who recently crossed 4.0, that rank is worth knowing. A 4.0 places a player in the top 16% of rated players. Shields puts it as about one in six. A 4.5 is the top 5%, and a 5.0 is the top 1%, or roughly 99 out of every 100 players below that mark.
Where the Median Falls
The median falls inside the 3.000 to 3.499 band. If players are spread evenly within that band, Shields estimates the median at about 3.3. He labels this an estimate and not an official average. The whole-number percentages also make derived numbers like this one rough.
Why a Rating Can Move After a Win or a Loss
The article also explains a feature of the system that confuses players. Following DUPR’s 2025 algorithm update, a rating can go up after a loss or down after a win. Ratings come from recorded results compared with the expected outcome, and match type, recency, and volume also factor in.
DUPR also publishes a Reliability Score. It indicates how strongly a player’s match history supports the rating.
What the Numbers Say About Recreational Play
The data puts the bulk of rated play in the middle of the scale. Just over half of rated players are in the 3s, 60% are below 3.5, and 84% are below 4.0. Players rated 5.0 or higher make up about 1% of the rated pool.
For recreational players, the percentile ladder works as a reference point. A move from 3.0 to 3.5 is a move from the 31st percentile to the 60th. A move from 3.5 to 4.0 takes a player from the 60th percentile to the 84th.
Image: Depositphotos
