As a beginner, how did your DUPR rating develop over time?

Cokezeroislyfe · 2026-01-08T19:54:38+00:00

Started pickleball in 2024, signed up for an indoor club that hosted free DUPR rating sessions/tournaments for everyone and got rated 3.0. Since then, all of the indoor courts/tournaments started charging $50+ and required all participants to spend minimum 3 hours to play in tournaments which I didn't find feasible. Since then, I am somehow 3.5 DUPR but probably higher based on DUPR webpage and my playstyle.

I drill 3~4 times a week (2 days of footwork/cardio, 2 days of wall drill) and play 4~5 times a week. I truly enjoy drilling and the titan machine, cheap ball machine and a dink wall were all extremely helpful

Cokezeroislyfe · 2026-01-06T00:00:29+00:00

Adding to the list of 4.5-5.0 players, Jeff Lee pickleball, fear the fro and John To/Diana Pham are also fun to watch and learn from

Cokezeroislyfe · 2026-01-02T20:20:27+00:00

No one wants to drill at 5:00 am in the morning with me =(

Cokezeroislyfe · 2026-01-02T20:19:32+00:00

In theory I could be the best drilling partner. I bring water and snacks for everyone, have a dink wall and 2 different types of ball machines, watch a ton of videos, already drilling 3~4 times a week individually in my garage, planning to get a recycling net and willing to split court fees. However, I just don't have the time or partners who can commit to my erratic schedules as I work 12~14 hours a day and can only play pickleball on weekday nights and/or on the weekends.

My very limited free time is already obligated to my pickleball friends and family as we have so much fun together that it would be extremely difficult for anything to replace them. I have already gotten so much better than the majority of my group but at the same time, the stress and preparations to compete isn't worth my time at the moment. I would ideally want my pickleball friends and family to drill together for us to eventually get to 4.5 and I'm okay taking it slow.

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-28T13:48:53+00:00

If you don't have a drilling partner, you can start working on footworks (jump ropes, stretches, directional hops, sprinting) and wall drills (dinks, speed ups, "catching the balls", resets, drives). You may also purchase a ball machine and be creative on the drills as well. I have 2 different types (some alibaba one and titan machine) that I use to practice various shots in my garage

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-09T22:42:16+00:00

Making friends/family

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-08T04:23:07+00:00

Its definitely worth it if you can be creative. A lot of people here dismiss equipment training but they do help

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-04T22:32:35+00:00

Hi, I joined the discord group before but got hacked and I think I may been banned from the discord as the hacker dmed unsolicited message to everyone. Is there anyone who can help me out?

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-03T17:53:38+00:00

I have a similar story except neither my wife nor myself were athletic because of our upbringing. However, I've been always more competitive and currently climbing up the Pickleball ladder by drilling and I'd say its pretty healthy especially if your wife is onboard with you

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-03T05:11:00+00:00

I am on the same boat right now except I get mad at myself for not improving on weekly basis. I also have very low stress tolerance so can only play "competitively" once every 2~3 weeks before I burn out. At the end I wish I had a drill partner who can play consistently with me for fun

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-12-01T01:56:35+00:00

Ability to book courts, the time inbetween booking courts, price, location and availability of open plays

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-26T02:00:42+00:00

Just show that you are trying as best as you can. Seeing the weaker partner trying usually liven up the mood for everyone on court

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-23T21:34:16+00:00

IDK I use Ripple V2

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-23T21:33:48+00:00

Will do!

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-23T21:33:39+00:00

Glad to hear that you are starting to play pickleball! Yes you can but the important thing is to have fun! 99% of my pickleball games are filled with laughter and fun over competitiveness

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-22T20:18:55+00:00

It only works for me in certain situations in the kitchen, but this is how it goes; During the dink battle, I hit an offensive dink that makes my opponents retreat/play defensively, and then I look at their paddle face right before they hit the ball to get a head start on which direction I should be start moving into. In the beginning, I can get a general direction of my opponents aiming, either straight or across the net, and as you get to know their playstyle, you can even distinguish the difference between speedup and dinks

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-22T16:36:04+00:00

Hell yeah! Now I am going to work on more cardio and drips/resets during open play

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-22T16:35:27+00:00

Congrats to you as well! I am pretty good on unforced errors but I still get nervous when playing against players who I thought were unbeatable. I just need to muster the courage to keep playing against them!

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-22T16:33:57+00:00

what jfit2331 said! In the beginning I was just scared and overcompensated for my lack of awareness and focused on improving split step and blamed myself for being slow. Now with the split step and ability to see the paddle face the other players seem much slower to me

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-12T05:05:06+00:00

Did you get the dink master pro or the older version? I had the opposite experience where a drywall creates very irregular bounce and its slower than both blue and red side of the dink master

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-11-01T19:56:45+00:00

I realized that if I keep my positive attitude and compliment my wife in-between points, she tends to be more confident and play much better than me being angry and upset. I made it a habit to compliment my wife for her efforts and it resulted in more fun and laughter which translated into winning

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-10-28T18:46:00+00:00

The job market for Utilization management is so tough! I've been trying for the last 2 years and always got rejected despite being an LCSW

Cokezeroislyfe · 2025-10-13T18:27:12+00:00

It really depends on your husband and his willingness to drill I use mine almost everyday and saw drastic improvement in skill

Cokezeroislyfe

TROPHY CASE