With nearly 4 million players, exploding growth and constantly increasing places to play, pickleball has continued to be the number one growing sport in the United States. The dink, soft game, bashers, concentration, exercise, competition, and most of all fun, are all part of the pickleball world. Basically the sport is a blend of badminton, ping pong, and tennis. Pickleball has a relatively short learning curve, thereby giving even a newbie beginner the chance to start having fun right from the start. Played with light-weight paddles and a plastic wiffle ball, games are played on a court the approximate size of a badminton court. The net is set slightly lower than a standard tennis net. Play format includes both singles (two players) or doubles teams (four players, two per team). Bottom line is the sport is addictive and a blast to play!

Pickleball players are among the most diverse of any sport, including folks within a wide range of age and skill. Many tournaments see the largest number of players in the 50+ brackets. However, pickleball is far from being a seniors-only sport. Top players of all ages are well conditioned athletes, with competition demanding excellent skill levels, conditioning and training. For a taste of pro-level action, check out some women's and men's matches on YouTube. Names like Ben Johns, Kyle Yates, Tyson McGuffin, and Riley Newman are a few of the top men's group. While, Simone Jardim, Irina Tereschenko, Lucy Kovalova, Sarah Ansboury, and Lindsey Newman are a few of the amazingly talented women pros.  In pro competition, as in rec play, we find players of all ages. Considered to be the best senior player in the world and friend of RMP, at 50+ Scott Moore is a 20x National Champion and continues to show his unparalleled skill on the court. For the majority of players, pickleball represents a fun, challenging and competitive means of providing great exercise and socializing. As skills and conditioning improve, often the competitive drive emerges in many players as they strive for higher rankings and a tournament medal or two. The satisfaction of such accomplishment, especially at the higher age levels, is something not often available in most other sports. It's an awesome feeling at any age.

As new players improve and begin thinking about competing in tournaments, a next step is determining a skill rating. Rating are a means of determining a player’s abilities, based upon some well thought out criteria established by the USA Pickleball and the IFP (International Federation of Pickleball). United Tournament Players Ratings (UTPR) provide kind of a leveling of the playing field, comparing one players skills against others. Basically, the rating system assures that players of similar skill levels are matched against each other in tournaments and other match play. This makes the game more fun and competitive for everyone. In January of 2019 USA Pickleball updated its tournament player ratings to include a four digit rating system, although a two digit interpretation of it remains commonly used. The new rating system includes a range from 1.0 to 6.5. This provides a more accurate determination of a player’s skill level and even better matches. The best place to find more information on the new rating system and other related questions is USAPA.org.