Pickleball Rankings & Pickleball Professional Rankings | Here Is What You Need to Know
Pickleball has become a game of interest in the past ten years due to its fast-paced nature. In the US, pickleball has been ranked as the fastest-growing game both in 2021 and 2022. Whereas, in the UK, the sport of pickleball has a growing fanbase of 4,000 active players and an availability of 120 ventures to participate in.
We are going to talk about the pickleball rankings and pickleball professional rankings in 2023 in the context of PPA tours.
An Introduction to Pickleball
Are you new to pickleball? Here is what you need to know.
Pickleball is played with rackets or paddles and a hollow, hard yet perforated plastic ball. This game was invented in 1965 and was inspired by a children’s backyard game in the United States.
Pickleball can be played both indoors and outdoors. Most of the Pickleball rules are similar to tennis, table tennis, and even badminton. As per the rules, the pickleball net is kept at a height of 0.86 meters. A foul is committed when either a player is unable to return a ball or an infraction is caused. The pickleball court is 44 feet long with a width of 22 feet. A dedicated space of 7-foot-area on each side of the net is dedicated as a non-volley zone for the ball to bounce back before it is hit back by the player.
The beauty of this game lies in making a minimal number of bounces, adherence to the non-valley zone rules, and the ability of a player to make underhand strokes.
In this article, we are going to discuss a short overview of pickleball, player rating criteria as well as pickleball rankings and pickleball professional rankings in different categories.
How Pickleball Pros Are Ranked?
There is no de facto system of pickleball rankings and pickleball professional rankings, on the basis of which the players can be judged on a single criterion. Currently, there are five systems in place to rank professional pickleball players, namely:
- Global Pickleball Rankings (GPR)
- Professional Pickleball Association (PPA)
- USA Tournament Pickleball Rankings (UTPR)
- Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) Rankings
- Association of Pickleball Players (APP)
All of the ranking systems differ from each other in a number of ways. These depend upon which tournaments are they currently following to check results, which players are part of their ranking system, and how frequently they update their rankings. Additionally, some of these ranking systems collect these points while advancing in tournament draws. Others usually follow algorithms to predict player rankings, which are usually based upon a win-or-lose ratio of the players and their standings against opponents.
In this article, we are going to focus on the PPA standards for pickleball rankings and pickleball professional rankings.
Pickleball Rankings Categories
For the PPA tours, a standard rubric has been created to define the pickleball skills needed by players to either improve or retain their rankings. Each ranking level defines the skill set of the pickleball players, categorizing their rating from basic to pro pickleball player:
| Skill Rating | Definition |
| 1.0 to 2.0 | Minimal understanding of the game rules. The player has started to play the game and has no background in any sports |
| 2.5 | Basic ability to keep the score. The player has limited exposure and can compete against players of a similar ranking |
| 3.0 | Ability to hit medium pace shots in forehand and serve shots. The player avoids backhand shots and shows medium consistency with 3rd shot and volley. |
| 3.5 | Has an improved ability of stroke development with while moderate level of shot control. The player shows consistency and improves strategy |
| 4.0 | Perfection in shot selection and timing. The prayer is able to serve in varying depths and give power shots |
| 4.5 | High level of consistency and control. The player leads the game, directs the ball, blocks volleys and directs the ball |
| 5.0 | Higher level of ability to control the ball in forehand and backhand. Can serve offensive shots. The player’s abilities can be termed as the mastered skillset. |
| 5..5 | Consistent wins and laurels. The plater is a senior pro in all aspects of the game |
Top-Ranked Pickleball Players in the World
The PPA ranking system determines the pickleball rankings of professional players. On the basis of divisions, these ranking systems are divided into four categories as follows:
- Pickleball Singles
- Pickleball Doubles
- Pickleball Mixed Doubles
The PPA ranking system takes 80% of the players’s performance for the past 52 weeks and adds it to the point rating system. A major role is played by PPA tour events in deciding the pickleball players’ rankings. All of these add to the rank, race point and overall points that the player has earned. The players often sign exclusive contracts with PPA, with duration ranging from 1 to 3 years, making this ranking system more reliable and exclusive.
Pickleball is majorly played in doubles, which includes men’s and women’s doubles as well as mixed doubles. There are even single tournaments as well. For each of these games, the rankings are announced separately for both male and female players.
Pro Men’s Singles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
For the ongoing pickleball tournaments, the best professional pickleball players with current rankings are as follows:
| Player | Rank |
| Ben Johns | 1 |
| Federico Staksrud | 2 |
| Tyson McGuffin | 3 |
| Connor Garnett | 4 |
Pro Men’s Doubles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
Here is what you need to know about the pickleball tournaments that PPA has released so far:
| Player | Rank |
| Ben Johns | 1 |
| Collin Johns | 2 |
| Matt Wright | 3 |
| Riley Newman | 4 |
Pro Men’s Mixed Doubles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
Pro Men’s Mixed Doubles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
| Player | Rank |
| Ben Johns | 1 |
| Riley Newman | 2 |
| James Ignatowich | 3 |
| JW Johnson | 4 |
Pro Women’s Singles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
Just like men’s single-player rankings, the PPA also releases the ranking of the women’s players. Here is everything you need to know about women players’ rankings:
| Player | Rank |
| Anna Leigh Waters | 1 |
| Anna Bright | 2 |
| Catherine Parenteau | 3 |
| Jessie Irvine | 4 |
Pro Women’s Doubles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
Similar to men’s singles and doubles rankings championships, here is what is a list of pickleball double players standings for women:
| Player | Rank |
| Anna Leigh Waters | 1 |
| Anna Bright | 2 |
| Catherine Parenteau | 3 |
| Callie Smith | 4 |
Pro Women’s Mixed Doubles Player Standings – Professional Pickleball Association
Last among the tournament of champions, the mixed women player ratings for 2023 are summarized below:
| Player | Rank |
| Anna Leigh Waters | 1 |
| Anna Bright | 2 |
| Catherine Parenteau | 3 |
| Jessie Irvine | 4 |
