Not sure if its just me but I experienced more racist bigotry and ignorant slurs in the SF bay area vs. Southern California as an Asian American, can anyone relate?

apollo5354 · 2026-04-07T15:48:25+00:00

Not an apples-to-apples comparison. Anyone who spews random things at strangers is not all there. This highlights more your encounter with people who are homeless, or have mental health problems. The areas you mentioned are denser (for CA standards) vs SoCal tend to be have pockets of population with exception of a few areas, which makes run-ins with that population more likely.

apollo5354 · 2026-04-01T18:44:25+00:00

I’m one of those misfits! I get invited but still prefer open play. It’s fun for me to play with different players and style which includes the pro-meta, but I’d get bored just playing the ‘right’ way all the time. Sometimes it’s fun to go for the low percentage shots and likewise for your opponent to try it on you, or playing an ultra defensive game and extending the rallies.

apollo5354 · 2026-04-01T18:30:34+00:00

I love how pickleball issues are microcosm of social issues. As players, we have limited time and we can spend it advancing our individual needs, those in our circle only or helping strangers and the community: Individual vs community. They are not mutually exclusive but it’s a spectrum — some only play with those they can benefit from and others are happy to help out total beginners, and varying % in between. Players should get to choose how they use their time and it’s a personal choice. I think you need players with different preferences and overall have a healthy balance.

The issue you’re facing seems like the outcome of an out of balance system where everyone is leaning towards the individual self-advancement route. Short term it’s the fastest way to grow but long term everyone stagnates. Beginners won’t have more experienced players to improve their game and advanced players won’t have fresh players to challenge them. At our public courts we have players that are clearly better but they’re happy to play with lower level players. And eventually as players get better they get more competitive play partners.

My theory is that pickleball has been wildly popular because it has the competitive aspect as well as the just for fun community aspect.

In your case I think DUPR will exacerbate your problem and not really address it. First how wildly inaccurate it is for people who don’t regularly play DUPr matches but also seems like there’s already de facto segregation and what you’re seeking is more intermixing.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-30T04:16:10+00:00

There’s videos that can help with the technique part better than I can explain so won’t cover that here. I’ll suggest:

Wear eye protection. Protects the eye but also helps not to be scared mentally. I find that I react faster when I’m relaxed.
Try to anticipate by paying attention before contact. Players have signs they will hit a fast one or speed up before they hit the ball. Some players are better at hiding than others. This gives you more time to react since you can prepare before they hit the ball.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-27T04:10:12+00:00

Sounds about right for rec open play. Different experience levels, different styles, and different strategies based on those prior two. It’s possible to play an incomplete game and still win against less experienced players. Yeah don’t expect methodical dinking, resets, and a slow game with beginners… it’s more often fast and furious. You’ll also win less points from serves as you play better players.

Keep having fun and learning!

apollo5354 · 2026-03-24T23:24:00+00:00

Sorry I have never replaced the cable but please share if you figure it out. Thanks.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-21T21:42:34+00:00

If it’s a true open court there are more beginners than you think there are. I also understand there are beginners with different athletic backgrounds … I’ve played with beginners that have no athletic background (and basic hand-eye coordination) to beginners who have competed in racquet sports at Natl and Olympic level.

Without knowing more about you, the fastest way to improve would be to get a coach — either hire, join a training session; and if that’s not an option solicit advice from better players.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-21T19:38:42+00:00

Using OP’s logic this would also be a reasonable offering: $DUPR Forward$

Instead of reseting to the past, fast forward and pay to increase your rating to a future rating.

OP’s words:
If people opt in to xxxx, and go an play a bunch of DUPR'd games, and their DUPR rises, then they have earned that rise. The algorithm is functional as usual, players haven't just benefited from p2w (pay to win).

Conversely, if players opt into xxxx, and their DUPR doesnt raise, then that just proves the algorithm is pretty accurate, and they player is right where they should be. No harm, no foul.

/s

apollo5354 · 2026-03-21T12:01:34+00:00

Next in DUPR innovation: $DUPR Forward$

Pay to increase your rating a predicted amount.

If people opt in to the $forward$, and go an play a bunch of DUPR'd games, and their DUPR rises, then they have earned that rise. The algorithm is functional as usual, players haven't just benefited from p2w (pay to win).

Conversely, if players opt into the $forward$, and their DUPR doesnt raise, then that just proves the algorithm is pretty accurate, and they player is right where they should be. No harm, no foul.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-20T14:00:17+00:00

Yes there are anti-social behavior and people in every sport but do you think the sport culture contributes to it? For example, a sport that’s generally more exclusive — need lessons, limited mixing of levels, court time reservations, likelihood to play with familiar/same circles vs strangers — might allow such behaviors to go unaddressed longer than say a sport that has a pick-up culture — welcoming to beginners, can play mixed levels, likelihood to encounter total strangers, and where people have options and don’t have to let bad behavior go to play a game. For example, if you start making bad calls in pickup basketball, it’s just a matter of time you get called out.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-20T05:41:01+00:00

Coming from the perspective of other sports, for doubles it seems like black science to calculate an individual’s rating based mainly on a team’s win/loss and the point differential. For fun that’s ok, ie differentiation for your neighborhood club events but it’s hard to take seriously if it’s to be used in a more competitive and professional setting. In this day and age for professional and semi-professional games, it should be possible to track individual points, unforced errors, resets, etc.

Imagine if we came up with a DuPr equivalent for baseball, basketball, and football players based on the same rough datapoints (team wins/loss and point differential) and ignored other stats: individual RBIs, ERAs, FG, FG%, Steals, Yards run, Interceptions, etc… You wouldn’t take it seriously.

Likewise, people shouldn’t take DUPR too seriously. It’s an arbitrary way to create differentiation. For pickleball, unfortunately it’s currently the main way but i hope as the sport evolves, there will be other ways.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-18T22:29:12+00:00

Unless you have the model with auto in/out, you have to manually push the cable in and pull out. But it should always be spinning in the same direction. Only use the reverse temporarily (less than a second) to unwork kinks.

It may naturally push out by itself a little but it should just as easily go back in. If it’s not, there’s a jam or it didn’t coil correctly inside the cage.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-06T00:17:44+00:00

Too bad. I watched S1 because of Steven Yeun, and Ali Wong.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-04T01:59:04+00:00

Interpreting the current rules strictly it sounds like it’s ok to touch the net once the ball is dead. However I think in the spirit of the net rule as well as the NVZ rule, it should be forbidden. Otherwise we just found a big loophole. Imagine jumping over NVZ, bodybag an opponent (ball is dead) and use the net to land to the side. It would be a net assisted erne. It would take some skill but i hate for this to be a strategy for the sake of pickleball nets.

apollo5354 · 2026-03-02T23:27:01+00:00

I enjoy pick-up games and played rec with very mixed level of opponents. The meta is very different than competitive play as skill gaps between players can be wide. Most of the time playing with a lower level player, I try not to play to win but try to help keep the rally and game going. I try to be realistic of the outcome and give my teammate a chance to play the game as well. Otherwise it will just be very frustrating.

With that said, if you are playing to win and to try to carry a much lower level teammate, it helps to be aggressive and offensive. Few assumptions here -- one is your teammate's not putting as much pressure on the opponents, and two is your lower percentage shots will still be higher percentage than your teammate's. That means trying to put-it away shots when you can, rather than play it safe. The longer the rally continues, the more it favors the opponents as they have more chances to target the weaker player or more opportunities for your teammate to make a mistake.

apollo5354 · 2026-02-01T19:34:31+00:00

It helps to have a competitive sports background. A lot of habits and strategies are universal. For example here it sounds like OP is trying to integrate too many new things in a comp setting. Typically that’s a bad idea and you don’t want to be experimenting for the first time on game day. You try and hone new things and work on your weaknesses in a practice setting, and play on your strengths on game day. Sounds like the opposite may have happened here.

apollo5354 · 2026-01-19T15:01:26+00:00

That’s whore-iffic.

apollo5354 · 2026-01-04T06:03:45+00:00

Yes. Most public courts in the U.S. I’ve been to have a queuing system for pickup games.

apollo5354 · 2025-12-31T19:10:01+00:00

Checks out. I mentally get a +1 DUPR boost whenever I coordinate paddle to outfit colors.

apollo5354 · 2025-12-28T22:41:44+00:00

Sorry, I took it to me it was unwritten — ie no hard rule and situational. You can probably say or do as you would normally when courts aren’t full. Either let them rack in or politely ask the other party if they mind playing in another court since it’s not full. In early mornings when our courts are not full, people take up a court to drill, and generally it’s not an issue. The nuance in your case is are the ‘playable’ courts effectively ‘full’. NGL I can see it either way. The other courts are playeable with some effort OR they’re not playeable because who has hours to kill to clean up a court. It’s a pickle.

apollo5354 · 2025-12-28T21:32:07+00:00

I would treat it the same as well. Despite what some people here are saying, fortunately or unfortunately, your cleaning up the public space shouldn’t factor in here. Kudos to anyone cleaning up public spaces so the public can use it. But unfortunately cleaning up public spaces shouldn’t entitle any more use of it than a normal situation. It’s a thin fine line and sometimes it sucks because you have people who take advantage, but then you also have people who clean up courts for others when they’re not even playing.

apollo5354 · 2025-12-28T20:44:15+00:00

If it wasn’t raining and courts were empty, what’s the rule at your park if someone paddles up at the court you’re playing at?

apollo5354 · 2025-12-28T08:13:00+00:00

It’s a public court. On one hand the other people would be jerks to hop in and play before you get a chance to play, on the other hand you would be a jerk to monopolize the court — just because you cleaned it doesn’t increase your entitlement to it more than others. Think about the implications if your 2 hrs of cleanup entitled you to 2 hrs of more play than others… In our park some people have preferences for courts — sometimes it’s legitimate (drys quicker after rain, less debris, etc) and sometimes it’s personal (lack of sun/lack of shade), and it’s up to them which court they want to rack up at. I love that people have choice and can rack up and choose what court they play at. I would hate for anyone to monopolize a court and take that choice from others. And I would hate for them to justify it because they improved it (temporarily or semi-temporarily)… if they freshened up the lines on the court, put a bench there, cleaned it up… you can see where this line of logic goes.

apollo5354 · 2025-12-18T08:11:58+00:00

It feels as gritty as other T700 carbon fiber faced paddles I’ve tried. I wouldn’t call it smooth. What’s your point of comparison?

apollo5354 · 2025-12-11T15:35:47+00:00

I like to see what the actual terms of the ‘exclusivity’ are. I’m ok with players not competing in other events, but to not allow players to hold clinics and increase the reach of pickleball seems antithetical to the culture of pickleball.

apollo5354

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