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CourtRank
A fair weekly ladder for rotating-partner pickleball leagues. It ranks every player by what they actually do on the court — then balances the courts for you.
↓ how it works
the problem
Every week, you rebuild the courts by hand.
Six courts, 36 players, a new partner every game. One sandbagger wrecks a court. A blowout sends people home early. And half your players don't even have a DUPR.
the payoff
What it takes off your plate.
Accurate, bounded seedingEveryone starts in a sensible, defensible spot — no wild placements.
DUPR or not — one systemNo rating? A rated player grades them, like a provisional DUPR. Both ranked by the same engine.
Sandbaggers surfaceAnyone playing below their level climbs to where they actually belong — fast.
Mis-seeds self-correctA bad opening guess is fixed within a few weeks, not stuck all season.
Activity-awareMiss a week and you're not punished — your rating just moves more decisively when you return.
Any league size (20+)Balanced courts of 5–6 for any turnout of 20 or more — covers your whole format with room to spare.
how it works
It figures out who's actually carrying.
1 · Play with everyonerotating partners let results point at you, not your partner
2 · Margins matterwinning 11–2 counts more than scraping 11–9
3 · Credit the carrylift a weaker partner to a win, you gain more
4 · Fast ratings, slow ranksskill updates quickly; your court seat moves gently
what it reads
Five signals in. One question out: did you beat expectations?
+ DUPR / shadow DUPR+ game scores & margins+ partners & opponents+ weekly attendance+ new joiners
Expected
64%
From the ratings, your team was a slight favorite to win this game.
→Actual
11–3
You didn't just win — you crushed it. Far past what was expected.
→Adjustment
▲ rating
The gap moves your rating up — and more of it goes to whoever carried.
Beat expectations → you rise. Fall short → you ease down. Meet them → barely a flicker. That single gap, game after game, is the whole engine.
guardrails
No one leaps the whole ladder in a week.
- Move at most one court per week — last place can't reach the top overnight
- Win a game, never lose rating points for it
- Players with a real DUPR are protected from wild swings
- Organizer override for an obvious week-1 misgrade
does it actually work?
150 simulated seasons say yes.
92% of players land within one court of where they truly belong.
go deeper
Want the math behind it?
The white paper has the full model, simulation methodology, and results.