DUPR maintains two separate ratings for you: one for singles, one for doubles. Most players are noticeably better at one than the other, and the gap is informative rather than embarrassing.
Why they’re separate
Singles and doubles are close to different sports played on the same court.
Singles rewards movement, court coverage, serve and return depth, fitness, and the ability to construct a point alone. You cover 20 feet of width by yourself and there’s no partner to hide a weakness.
Doubles rewards soft-game control, dinking, reflexes at the net, shot selection, and coordination with a partner. Physical range matters far less; touch and patience matter far more.
A single rating averaging both would describe neither accurately. Someone who’s a strong athletic singles player and a mediocre dinker would look identical to a patient net player with no mobility, which is useless for matchmaking.
What the gap tells you
Doubles higher than singles is the most common pattern, especially among recreational players. It usually means your soft game and net play are ahead of your movement and endurance — or simply that you play far more doubles, which is true of most people.
Singles higher than doubles often points to an athletic player, frequently from a tennis background, whose drives and court coverage are strong but whose dinking and patience at the kitchen line lag. If this is you, the fix is the soft game: dinking, resets, and the third shot drop.
Roughly equal means either a genuinely well-rounded game, or not enough matches recorded in one format for the rating to mean much. Check your reliability score before drawing conclusions.
The match-volume caveat
Before reading anything into your gap, check how many matches sit behind each number.
Most recreational players record a lot of doubles and very little singles. A singles rating built on three matches isn’t a measurement of your singles ability — it’s noise. Reliability climbs with match count, and a thin rating swings hard on every result. See why your DUPR can move after one match.
If your singles rating looks surprising, the likeliest explanation is sample size, not a hidden talent or deficiency.
Which one do events use
Depends on the event, and it’s worth asking rather than assuming:
- Doubles leagues and doubles brackets use your doubles rating.
- Singles tournaments use your singles rating.
- Mixed doubles typically uses the doubles rating.
- Level-based open play almost always uses doubles, since that’s what’s being played.
Because doubles is what most facilities run, your doubles rating is the number that will govern most of your play.
Using the gap deliberately
The two ratings are a free diagnostic. Rather than treating the lower one as a problem, treat it as a reading:
If doubles is your weaker number, you likely need patience more than athleticism. Play dink-only games. Work on crosscourt dinks and resets. Resist the urge to speed up every ball above net height.
If singles is your weaker number, you need movement and depth. Work on footwork, serve and return depth, and fitness. Play skinny singles — it’s the most efficient bridge between the two formats and needs only half a court.
If you only care about doubles, that’s completely reasonable. Most players do. Just don’t be surprised when a rarely-used singles rating looks odd.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does DUPR have separate singles and doubles ratings?
Yes. DUPR maintains two distinct ratings, and performance in the two formats commonly differs.
Why is my singles DUPR lower than my doubles DUPR?
Usually because you play far less singles, so the rating is built on fewer matches. It can also reflect that singles demands movement and endurance while doubles rewards soft-game control.
Which DUPR rating do tournaments use?
The one matching the format: doubles rating for doubles and mixed events, singles rating for singles brackets. Level-based open play generally uses doubles.
Should I try to even out my two DUPR ratings?
Only if you want to play both formats competitively. There’s nothing wrong with a strong doubles rating and a weak singles rating if doubles is what you play.
How many matches do I need before my DUPR is meaningful?
Enough for a solid reliability score — a rating built on a handful of matches swings sharply on each result and shouldn’t be read as a firm measurement.