In this short article we cover UTPR: what it is, how to get a rating, and several FAQs about UTPR ratings and how UTPR differs from the better-known DUPR rating system.
Ready? Let’s go!
What does UTPR Mean in Pickleball?
UTPR, or USA Pickleball Tournament Player Rating, is the United States Pickleball Association’s (USAPA) official player rating system. UTPR ratings range from 2.5 (beginners) to 6.0+ (professionals), and the ratings are used by USAPA to determine tournament eligibility and seedings. Based on results from USAPA tournaments, players receive separate UTPR ratings for doubles, singles, and mixed doubles.
How to Get a UTPR Rating
Getting a UTPR rating is a straightforward 2 step process:
1 - To sign up for a USAPA membership:
- Go to the USA Pickleball site and click “Join” to sign-up. Note that you’ll need a membership to enter any official USAPA tournaments.
2 - To enter a USAPA tournament:
- Sign-up for a USAPA-sanctioned tournament at pickleballbrackets.com or on the USAPA Events site (just make sure it’s a USAPA-sanctioned event, some smaller local events are not!).
Once the tournament is finished and your results are entered (this can take 1-2 months), you will be able to login to your USAPA account and see your UTPR pickleball rating.
Keep in mind that the more tournaments you play, the more accurate your UTPR rating will be!
How Many Matches Does It Take to Get a UTPR rating?
All it takes to get a UTPR is playing in 1 USAPA tournament, where you will normally play at least 2 matches.
FAQs: How to Get a UTPR Rating
What is the Difference Between DUPR and UTPR?
UTPR and DUPR rate players based on their skill level relative to other players, but there are differences in how the 2 ratings work (and what they are used for)
UTPR and DUPR both calculate your rating based on your win/loss record and your opponents’ ratings, but DUPR goes 1 step further by also including the actual score of the games as a factor in ratings (so how much you win or lose by is factored in).
DUPR also updates ratings more quickly, usually within 1-2 weeks of results being entered. UTPR updates on a monthly or quarterly basis.
In terms of how they are used, DUPR has been more widely adopted by players and clubs than UTPR. UTPR is often used in seedings for tournaments, but DUPR is now also being factored in at some tournaments.
Finally, in our experience DUPR is a superior pickleball player rating system for a number of reasons that we lay out here.
How Can I Raise my UTPR Rating?
The short answer is that playing in tournaments and winning against players at or above your UTPR rating is the quickest way to raise your UTPR rating.
There are a few other strategies for improving your UTPR, which we write about in our “Guide to UTPR & DUPR Pickleball Ratings (and How to Improve Yours!)”.
What is an Example of a UTPR rating?
UTPR ratings are 4 digit ratings players get for both doubles and singles (note that UTPRs are usually rounded down to 2 digits).
The UTPR ratings scale goes from 2.0 (beginner) to 6.0+ (professional).
Here’s an example of UTPR Ratings:
How do you get a DUPR rating in pickleball?
Getting a DUPR rating is simple, and there are multiple paths you can take to get your rating. If you are just getting started with DUPR, the first step is to claim an existing DUPR profile (account) that may already have been set-up for you, or set-up a profile on your own.
We quickly summarize these options and steps to get a DUPR in “How to Get a DUPR Rating” summary post.
How Does the UTPR Rating System Work?
UTPR looks at the head to head results and the ratings of players involved to assess the relative skill level of each player.
Put another way, using head to head results in tournaments, UTPR assigns ratings to players based on their performance against their competition.
For more details on UTPR and how ratings are calculated, check out our “UTPR Ratings in 60 Seconds” guide or the more in-depth “UTPR & DUPR Ratings Explained” article.
