The PPA Tour is set to revolutionize professional pickleball with the introduction of its new World Pickleball Rankings, a unified leaderboard designed to identify the most complete player in the sport. Launching for the 2026–2027 season, this system moves beyond discipline-specific metrics to reward athletes who excel across all formats of the game.
How the New Ranking System Works
The PPA Tour aims to provide a definitive answer to who the best overall player is by aggregating results from every PPA event worldwide, including Challenger events, international tournaments, Majors, and the Pickleball World Championships. The system is designed to provide clarity and credibility, ensuring that success is measured by a single, global standard.
To ensure the rankings accurately reflect a player’s versatility and consistency, the PPA has implemented the following structure:
- Weighted Scoring Distribution: The rankings are calculated based on a specific percentage breakdown: 50% for Gender Doubles, 35% for Mixed Doubles, and 15% for Singles. This ensures that while all formats matter, the primary focus remains on doubles play.
- Rolling 52-Week Window: Each player’s ranking is determined by their 14 best tournament results accumulated over the previous 52 weeks.
- Scaled Point Totals: Not all tournaments are created equal; point awards are scaled based on the size, prestige, and importance of each specific event.
- Competitive Consequences: These rankings are not just for show; they will directly influence tournament entries, the distribution of byes, and qualification criteria for the prestigious season-ending PPA Finals.
- PPA Finals Qualification: The new system will determine the field for the PPA Finals, where the top eight men and top eight women will compete across all three disciplines to crown a champion.
While the PPA will continue to maintain separate leaderboards for singles and doubles specialists, the World Pickleball Rankings serve as the ultimate test of a player's all-around skill. This initiative coincides with the Tour’s new rallying cry, “BE THE BEST,” which is intended to inspire everyone from elite professionals to recreational players to push their limits on the court.
