How To Determine Your Pickleball Rating (If You Don’t Have a DUPR Yet)

Feb 20

One of the biggest challenge casual pickleballers face is determining their skill rating before they have a “verified” rating through DUPR. Many organized pickleball events are beginning to require an accurate DUPR rating to register (for good reason!), but the vast majority of pickleball players do not have a verified rating.

The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the spectrum of skill levels from 2.0 - 8.0, so that you can accurately rate yourself and avoid winding up in the wrong division!

2.0 Skill Level: Beginner

“I’m just getting started with pickleball, learning the basic rules, scoring, and positioning, and I’m working on consistently hitting the ball over the net during practice and casual play."

What You’re Learning: You’re still mastering the basics, like how to serve correctly, the importance of staying out of the kitchen (non-volley zone), and rallying with a partner.

Strengths at This Level: Players at this level tend to focus on making contact with the ball consistently and are building confidence on the court.

Getting to 2.5: Practice keeping the ball in play, working on basic footwork, and getting comfortable with moving around the court.

2.5 Skill Level: Novice

"I can sustain rallies of 5-7 shots, consistently serve and return inbounds, and I’m starting to understand basic court positioning and when to move forward."

What You’re Learning: You’re beginning to control your shots, understand the concept of a soft game (like dinking), and recognize when to move to the kitchen line. You may also be working on avoiding unforced errors, such as hitting the ball into the net or out of bounds.

Strengths at This Level: Your serves and returns are consistent, and you can rally at a moderate pace. You may also begin to notice how positioning impacts gameplay.

Getting to 3.0: Begin practicing dinks and focusing on transitioning from the baseline to the kitchen line efficiently during rallies.

3.0 Skill Level: Intermediate

"I can hit serves, returns, and volleys consistently, sustain longer rallies with improved control, and I’m beginning to execute basic dinks and attempt third-shot drops in game situations."

What You’re Learning: At this level, you’re starting to focus on more advanced techniques, such as third-shot drops, which help you transition to the net. You’re also developing more confidence with your dinking game and starting to think about shot placement rather than just getting the ball over the net.
Strengths at This Level: You’re comfortable rallying, moving around the court, and attempting some strategic shots. You can handle medium-paced volleys and sustain rallies without unforced errors becoming a major issue.
Getting to 3.5: Work on executing third-shot drops with more consistency and accuracy, improve your reaction time at the net, and start developing your doubles strategy with a focus on communication and teamwork.

3.5 Skill Level: Intermediate +

"I have solid control over most shots, including dinks and third-shot drops, can vary my shot placement intentionally, and I’m starting to anticipate my opponents’ strategies while holding my position at the kitchen line."

What You’re Learning: You’re developing a soft game with more consistency and using it to set up offensive opportunities. You’re also improving at defending against attacks at the net and are better at choosing when to dink, drop, or drive. Anticipation is becoming a key part of your game.

Strengths at This Level: Players at this level can control the pace of the game with strategic shots, handle fast-paced volleys, and reset the ball effectively when under pressure.

Getting to 4.0: Work on adding more spin and precision to your shots, improving your footwork for quick transitions, and learning to “read” your opponents’ intentions to stay one step ahead.

4.0 Skill Level: Advanced

"I can execute a variety of shots—including dinks, drops, and drives—with precision and consistency, defend effectively in fast-paced exchanges, and I understand how to adjust my strategy based on opponents’ strengths and weaknesses."

What You’re Learning: You’re mastering how to mix up your shots to keep opponents guessing and are proficient in handling fast-paced net battles. You also understand how to identify opponents’ weaknesses and adjust your strategy to capitalize on them. Advanced techniques like blocking, resetting, and lobbing are now tools in your repertoire.

Strengths at This Level: You’re confident in your ability to dictate play, defend under pressure, and communicate seamlessly with your doubles partner. You’re also adept at controlling the pace and rhythm of the game.

Getting to 5.0: Hone your ability to disguise your shots, improve the accuracy of your returns and third-shot drops, and work on minimizing any unforced errors that may still occasionally creep into your game.

5.0+ Skill Level: Professional

"I can consistently execute all shots with accuracy, power, and spin, dominate at the net during fast-paced exchanges, adapt my strategy quickly, and compete at a highly competitive level with players of equal skill."

What You’re Learning: At this level, the game is all about refinement and consistency. You’re continually improving your ability to disguise shots, reset fast exchanges, and hit with accuracy under pressure. Advanced strategies like stacking, poaching, and baiting opponents are second nature.

Strengths at This Level: You have complete control over shot selection, power, and placement. You’re mentally sharp and can adapt quickly to opponents’ changing strategies. Your teamwork in doubles is fluid and seamless, with effective communication and court coverage.

Getting to 6.0: Compete in high-level tournaments to challenge yourself further, fine-tune your mental game, and push your limits against the best players.

Next Steps

At this point, you probably have a pretty good idea about your pickleball skill rating. Hopefully now you can confidently sign up for that upcoming league or tournament.

If you want to speed up the process to a verified rating, there’s a few ways you can do that.

First, you can do it yourself! Sign up for an account at DUPR.com, and as long as the other 3 people you’re playing with have a DUPR account as well, you can upload match scores whenever you want. After you’ve uploaded a handful of games (approximately 6), you will receive a rating.

The other option is signing up for DUPR oriented programming.

At Pickleball 901, we offer a variety of ways to get a verified skill rating and improve it over time!

DUPR Days - round robin sessions specifically designed to play six games in 90 minutes and get a DUPR rating
Leagues - Playing 5 games per week for 6 weeks is a great way to improve your rating!
Tournaments - With confidence in your skill rating, you’re ready to become King or Queen of the court!

Our goal at Pickleball 901 is to provide the best possible pickleball playing experience - from the atmosphere, to the programming. Every match you play is important, and we want to ensure that it is fair (and FUN!!) for everyone.