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Dive in and get to know the newest member of the Miami Pickleball Club (MPC), Noe Khlif!

All the way from France, Noe recounts his journey from discovering the sport in a Chicago gym to pursuing a professional career. Initially attracted to pickleball's social vibe, Noe has become competitive, participating in tournaments and making strides in his career, including being drafted into Major League Pickleball (MLP).

Balancing a full-time job as an auditor, Noe looks forward to focusing solely on pickleball. He shares memorable experiences, admires tennis legend Rafael Nadal, discusses his training, and aspires to win bigger titles soon in his emerging pickleball career. Excited about the sport's growth, Noe is ready and eager to shape his future in pickleball!

Find out more about Noe on this Q&A:‍

How and where did you find pickleball?

I discovered pickleball at my local gym when I was living in Chicago. I saw people playing indoors on a basketball court and I was like " What the hell is this?". I tried it and loved it!

How has it changed your life?

At first I was just playing for fun. Then I was missing competing so I decided to start playing a couple tournaments. I was doing well and the sport started exploding so I became interested in trying to play the professional circuit. Now I can't imagine my life without pickleball whether with friends for fun or competitively. Fun Fact I also met my girlfriend at a pickleball tournament!

What is your favorite memory from your career so far?

Utah PPA was a great memory. I was sick and almost didnt play the tournament but I ended up beating Dylan Frazier and Jay Devilier making the quarterfinals. I also made the quarterfinals in doubles and played the Johns brothers on Center Court for the first time so it was pretty cool! I was also very excited when I got drafted by Miami for MLP. Finally, my girlfriend and I qualified for Mixed Pro Main Draw in our first PPA together!

What motivated you to become a pro pickleball player?

I love competing and the atmosphere in tournaments. I also enjoy traveling and discovering new places. Ideally I would love to make a living out of it.

What has been the most fun about joining Major League Pickleball? What has been a challenge?

Joining Major League Pickleball was very exciting. It's fun to compete as a team against the best players out there. Getting used to the format and atmosphere was the most challenging I would say.

What athlete or person inspires you the most?

My idol growing up was Rafael Nadal. I love the way he competes and fight on every point. He is one of the toughest athlete out there mentally and physically.

What does your current training regimen look like?

I have a full time job as an Auditor at Deloitte right now so I havent been able to train as much as I can unfortunately. I usually hit the gym early in the morning before work and try to drill after work. I will go full time pickleball starting July 20th so I am excited about the idea to be able to train more.

What is your greatest accomplishment in sports so far?

Won the French National Championship (tennis) in singles when I was 14 and in doubles when I was 12 and 16. Also won a Big Ten title playing for the University of Illinois.

What do you do outside of pickleball?

I have a full time Job as an Auditor at Deloitte. I also love playing golf whenever I have time and watching sport or tv shows.

What is your current DUPR?

Currently it is 6.333 in Doubles and 6.579 in Singles.

What is the biggest title you would like to achieve in your pickleball career?

Win gold medals in Singles and Doubles on different pro tour events, and of course Win MLP.
What did you feel like getting drafted to play for MPC?

I was very excited when I got the news I got drafted. That was one of my goal this season and I’m very happy to have the opportunity to compete as part of an MLP team.

How was the first MLP event of the season for you in terms of nerves, atmosphere, and team chemistry?

I really enjoyed my first MLP event. We had some really close matches which was very exciting. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the new format and different atmosphere, but thankfully I have an amazing team that helped me with this transition and I feel better and better with every match I play.

How does the MLP format feel compared to playing PPA's or other non-team events?

MLP format makes things very interesting because anything can happen. Every point matters and each game is usually very close, so you have to be all-in from the first point to the last point. I like competing as part of a team, because you are playing for something bigger than yourself. It gives additional motivation.

What are your team and personal goals for this season?

Our goal as a team is to finish on top of the Challenger standings and get promoted to Premier. My personal goal is to help the team achieve its goal and to give myself the opportunity to compete in the premier league next year.

Anything else you want to add?

It's good to see pickleball growing the way it has been over the last couple of years, allowing professional players to focus full-time on their pickleball career. I can't wait to see how the sport keeps growing and evolving over the next years. It's really exciting!

Follow Noe's pickleball journey together with Miami PC on his Instagram!

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Pickleball tournament season can be grueling. Players often face fatigue, poor performance, and injury risk. 

But it doesn't have to be this way. 

With the right strategy, you can maintain peak performance throughout the season. This guide will show you how to prepare, train, and recover effectively. You'll learn the necessary skills to achieve your performance potential while staying healthy.

Step 1: Build Your Match Volume

Many players underestimate the demands of tournament play. This leads to inadequate preparation and subpar performance.

You must be well prepared for the worst-case scenario regarding the maximum pickleball you may need to play over a multi-day tournament. For example, if you play singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in a large field, you could play up to 5 (five) x 30-minute matches daily.

That’s almost 8 hours of matchplay. 

And these aren’t just normal matches. These maximum-intensity matches will drain your physical and mental energy, and that’s not even considering the challenges of playing on the road, away from your home court.

The first step to dominating the tournament season is increasing your match play volume.

Calculate the difference between your weekly match play volume and the projected tournament volume. If you currently play 4 hours of competitive match play per week, the difference is 4 hours.

Next, increase your weekly match play volume, in minutes, by 10-15% until you reach tournament volume.

Week 1: 276 min (+15%)

Week 2: 317 min (+15%)

Week 3: 365 min (+15%)

Week 4: 420 min (+15%)

Week 5: 460 min (+10%)

Following these steps to build the matchplay volume required for grueling tournaments. 

Step 2: Increase Intensity

Tournament match play will challenge you both physically and mentally, and if you aren’t prepared to sustain a high level of intensity, your play will deteriorate over time.

In addition to accumulating more volume of match play, you should deliberately intensify your on-court and off-court training leading up to a tournament season.

Here's how to push your limits and see real growth:

On-Court

• Challenge yourself against superior opponents to increase physical and mental training stress.
• Create scenarios where you are down several points at the end of a match and must overcome negative momentum to win.

Off-Court

Four to six weeks before the tournament season begins, incorporate lactic power training to enhance stamina for singles play and develop a mental edge. 

The primary goal of lactic power training is to improve the body's ability to produce energy quickly in the absence of oxygen (anaerobically) and increase tolerance to the accumulation of lactic acid, which can cause muscle fatigue and a burning sensation. This type of training is often incorporated into sports that require repeated bursts of high-intensity efforts, such as pickleball, soccer, basketball, or hockey.

Key components of lactic power training:

1. High Intensity: Exercises are performed at near-maximal effort (80-95% of your maximum heart rate).
2. Short Duration: Work intervals last between 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
3. Recovery Periods: Rest between sets is often 2-4 times the length of the work interval to allow partial recovery.
4. Repeated Efforts: Typically, multiple sets of these high-intensity efforts are performed with the goal of increasing tolerance to lactate.

I recommend removing lactic power training seven to ten days before your first tournament. In addition, consider performing the sessions off the court (e.g., biking, rowing, sprinting, etc.) to prevent injury. 

Step 3: Optimize Your Weekly Training Schedule

Many players fail to structure their training week effectively. This results in fatigue, inconsistent performance, and increased injury risk. During a competitive season, your goals during the training weeks are to:

1. Recover from the previous event
2. Refine your skills & enhance your tactics without inducing excessive fatigue
3. Prime your brain and body for the upcoming event  

Here's a winning weekly schedule:

• Monday: Focus on recovery with active and proper nutrition
• Tuesday: High intensity/moderate volume court session + strength training
• Wednesday: Low intensity/low volume court session
• Thursday: Implement stimulatory practice to prime your body for competition
• Friday-Sunday: Dominate tournament play with peak performance

Download our FREE AIM7 training calendar for more details on the optimal weekly training schedule to help you win more matches.

Step 4: Stimulate Don’t Annihilate!

The two mistakes I see players making before a tournament that leads to predictably poor performance are:

1. Overtraining the week before the tournament and failing to perform to their potential.
2. Mismanaging recovery and resting too much. In this case, they start slow and lose early in the tournament.

Here's how to prevent these mistakes and prime yourself for success:

• Move your mid-week recovery day to Wednesday (T-2) for a Friday start date.
• On Thursday (T-1), implement a short, intense court session to stimulate your nervous system for the tournament's first day.

This strategy ensures you prevent a sluggish start by priming your body for performance.

Step 5: Master Long-Term Tournament Season Management

Many players burn out during extended tournament seasons because they fail to account for the compounding effects of consecutive tournaments.

This leads to declining performance and increased injury risk.

Here's a strategy to maintain peak form during a long competitive season of back-to-back tournaments.

Maintain your weekly training structure for the first 1-3 consecutive weekends. Give your body time to adapt to the rigors of a competitive season. After a month of tournament competition, lower your weekly training volume (on-court time & strength training volume) but maintain a high level of intensity on key training days.

At this point of the season, fitness shouldn’t be an issue, and the goal should be to refine your skill, maximize recovery, and level up your play each weekend. Also, listen to your body! Just because you have a plan on paper doesn’t mean you need to follow it.

Wrap Up

Performing at your best during tournament season requires a strategic approach to training and recovery. By building match volume, increasing intensity, optimizing your weekly schedule, and mastering long-term management, you'll set yourself up for success.

Remember, the key is balance. Push yourself in training, but don't overtrain. Recover actively, but don't become sluggish. And always listen to your body – it's your best guide throughout the season.

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Hello Pickleballers!

I'm penning this announcement because I’ve seen a lot of misinformation about DUPR online recently, so I felt compelled to clarify a couple of things. 

Why is DUPR the one and only rating in the sport?

First, it’s because we're trusted by 4700 clubs and facilities. That's the most important thing — at the grassroots level, every club and tournament organizer around the world is using our rating to create level-based play.

Not only that, but we are partnered with most of the major pro tours (MLP, PPA, PWR) and all the major amateur leagues (NPL, NTPL, WPT, The Dink Minor League Pickleball, and many others).

We’ve also integrated with 70 partner platforms so that clubs who adopt our rating aren’t forced to use one specific club management software but instead have a wide array to pick from.

All of these partnerships mean we're getting a massive flow of data from everyone who is running events. No other rating in the space can come close to matching this. 

Why do partnerships matter? Because you can’t be accurate unless you have data — and lots of it. 

One of the byproducts of the skyrocketing user adoption DUPR has experienced recently is that our algorithm is getting more and more accurate by the hour. That’s how we are able to make sure each and every result counts. 

So if there’s one message I’d like you to take away, it’s this: keep posting scores, keep competing, keep having fun and keep encouraging others to join the DUPR community. 

The only way to grow this sport we all love is together.

And remember, there is no ‘T’ in DUPR. We are a company created by pickleballers, for pickleballers. 

I’m super excited to keep growing with you. See you on the court! 

Tito Machado, CEO

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We got to ask Judah Samples, President of UNF Pickleball Club, a couple of questions to get to know the UNF Pickleball Club club a little better. Check out the Q&A below!

How many players does your club have?

- Our club has 20 players on our Competitive Team and around 150 Open Club players or Social players!

When did your pickleball club start?

- Our club was originally founded in the Fall of 2022 and we established our Competitive Team in the Fall of 2023.

Which school are you from?

- We are from the University of North Florida (UNF) and our mascot is Ozzie the Osprey.

What are your club's goals and ambitions this year?

- UNF's club goals this year are to finish within the top 10 this year at Nationals, and we also want to continue to grow the sport on our campus!

When is your next DUPR event?

- Our next DUPR event is the Florida Regional September 21st-22nd!
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Check out these intriguing DUPR statistics for the UNF Pickleball Club:

1. They have secured a bid to the 2024 DUPR Collegiate Team Nationals - UPA World Championships
2. UNF made it to the semis at the Florida Super Regional
3. Evan Karcher is their highest DUPR player, maintaining a rating of 5.176 DUPR
4. Their highest ever DUPR Power Ranking was 11th in the country, and finished the 2024 spring semester at 13th

Check out UNF Pickleball Club on Instagram!‍

In case you missed it, take a look at some previous Q&A's on our Instagram below!

Want to start your DUPR Collegiate Club? Reach out to jacob@mydupr.com or check out more info HERE!
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The RPPk World Tour Integral Course of coaches training and certification program was held the past September 9-11 in NYC's prime pickleball location, CityPickle.

Successfully, 40 coaches were chosen from a pool of 300 highly qualified applicants to participate in the RPPk - TCC: Train the Coaches Course. These applicants received training from Luis Mediero, the President and Founder of RPPk, in collaboration with Tyson McGuffin and with the support of RPPk Master Instructors Derek Sawyer, Tommy Labad, Brad Lees, and Chris Wolfe, who have all been certified as the next generation of Master Instructors. The course will be conducted across the United States. The DUPR team, including Tito Machado, Cesar Clemente, Kyrill Hartog, Kevin Kim, and Dave McCune, made a stop in New York City for the course.

In addition, the RPPk and DUPR have agreed with the United Pickleball Association - UPA, which encompasses the Professional Pickleball Association - PPA and Major League Pickleball - MLP, the official education and certification program will train coaches, umpires, team managers and tournament directors worldwide.
Also, RPPk & DUPR will be teaching, for the first time, the RPPk Accelerated program at the Pickleball World Cup - PWC, in which the 32 coaches and players participating in this World Cup, as well as certified tennis, padel and pickleball coaches from all over Latin America will be able to participate. This course will be held in Lima, Peru on October 22nd and 23rd.

The International Coaches Institute - ICI established during 2021, the Registry of Pickleball Professionals - RPPk dedicated to professional training, international certification and comprehensive professional services for Pickleball teaching professionals, as well as the promotion of this sport. RPPk has over 1,200 certified coaches in 21 countries who have the highest recognition in the Pickleball industry.

All qualifications are recognized by: International Registry of Pickleball Professionals (RPPk International), European Registry of Pickleball Professionals (RPPk Europe), United States Registry of Pickleball Professionals (RPPk USA), Registro Profesional de Pickleball Latinoamericano (RPPk Latinoamérica), International Coaches Institute (ICI) and the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR).

Learn more about RPPk and sign up to the next course HERE!

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Mehvish Safdar, a collegiate pickleball player and former D1 tennis player, has become one of Collegiate Pickleball's top competitors. While studying sport psychology at Indiana University, she secured two first-place trophies at the 2024 College Individual National Championship (CINC).

Learn more about her insights and advice below! (Responses were transcribed from a video interview and edited by Charles Smith.)

Tell us about your background in tennis and what inspired you to pursue it at a higher level.

‍I started playing competitive tennis at a very young age —some might say I was born with a racket in hand. I'm the youngest of three girls, and they both played. I just picked it up in the park and then played with my sisters. Others recognized some potential in me, highlighting that it was something that was worth continuing to pursue.

What challenges did you face transitioning from collegiate tennis to life without competitive play?

I had a difficult time transitioning out of tennis because it was such a big part of my life. Then pretty soon after I found pickleball, which was great because it was something new, but familiar. I felt I was able to pick it up pretty quickly. The tennis background helps you be a decent pickleball player, but it’s not enough to be a great pickleball player. I actually think that my tennis background helped me and hurt me. It helped me with the basics, but I've had to unlearn a lot of tennis tendencies that have hurt me in pickleball. 

Which mental techniques or strategies have been effective for you or other athletes that you've worked with when competing at an elite level?

I've actually had the opportunity through my schooling and training to work with collegiate athletes on mental performance. I think a couple things that I would say have been helpful for me and have often been helpful for athletes include going into practice or even competition and looking at it as a positive opportunity. So an opportunity to compete, exercise, have fun, and implement the things that you've been working on. I think that it can be helpful to take a step back and have perspective. It is just a game and the sun will rise tomorrow. There are a lot of really difficult things going on in the world, and I think having that perspective can really help elite athletes perform at a higher level as well as just enjoy the sport more. 

What advice would you give to current athletes who are approaching the end of their collegiate or sports professional career? 

I'm actually working on my dissertation research right now for my PhD program. My focus is helping athletes navigate the transition out of collegiate sports, so it's important to recognize who you are outside of just being an athlete.

The stronger adherence you have to your athletic identity can really hurt you mentally. So recognizing that there's more to you than just being an athlete or recognizing that even those traits or skills that you possess as an athlete can transfer to other aspects of your life can be really helpful when transitioning out of sports, whether it's at a collegiate or professional level.

Do you have any hopes for the impact your research could have? 

I think that the ultimate goal is that the research translates into practice in some way. In sport psychology, a lot of the research is based around how we optimize performance outcomes on various psychological or mental skills. 

I'm also trying to bring an emphasis to how we can help athletes transition out of sports. For my dissertation, I'm trying to look into programming specifically that will help athletes have an easier transition out of collegiate athletics. There's a lot of research on the challenges that student athletes will experience, but there's not a ton of research on how we take those results and then create programming that will actually help them with the issue. 

Were there any resources or support systems that helped you transition out of collegiate sports? 

I could have really used someone like my current self or any sport psychology consultant or mental performance coach when I was a college student athlete. I think even if you're not engaged in traditional programming or if programming isn't out there to help you transition out of sport, it's really important to lean on your social supports and talk to other former student athletes and normalize that difficult transition. 

You performed great at THE DUPR CINC 2024, getting first place twice in mixed doubles and women's singles! How did those wins feel and what was your experience with the overall competition?

I was playing for Indiana University (IU), and IU pickleball was born very recently, so we created a competitive team in the fall of 2022. This year was our first showing at the Collegiate Individual Nationals. 

I think we had a good showing all around for it being our first time there. It was in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is home for me, so it was extra special. My parents were there and we played at the facility that I started playing tennis at. That was extra cool, and it was a really fun experience. 

We got to play a lot of matches within a couple of days: I played 23 matches in two days, which is wild. I had a couple of very bruised toenails after the tournament. Also, I got to meet a lot of new people. Everyone's really friendly at these college tournaments, and DUPR does a great job of creating a very organized environment and also an environment that's just fun and friendly. DUPR also takes very good care of the athletes too.

Our team had a few coaches there: Timber Tucker, Courtney and Kirby Shedd. They all volunteered their time and energy to help grow the IU pickleball team and support collegiate pickleball. That was great having them there. I got two titles while I was there which was exciting, and I got to make some money along the way. It was a really great weekend overall!

Keep up with Mehvish's journey on Instagram, and check out her team Indiana University Pickleball Club!

Written By: Charles Smith

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SPORTIME Pickleball Clubs Will Adopt DUPR as Official Rating Partner

‍Delray Beach, FL and New York, NY (September 13, 2024) – DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating presented by Delaware Life) and SPORTIME, one of the country’s leading racket sport providers and operators, announced a long-term partnership with the goal of having a dynamic impact on the growth and development of pickleball in the United States. Together, DUPR and SPORTIME will collaborate on various initiatives to promote level-based play and to provide world-class pickleball experiences for players of all levels. 

As part of the partnership, SPORTIME Pickleball will adopt DUPR as its official rating system and will use DUPR to coordinate club events, tournaments, level rated play and more. SPORTIME anticipates that its active players will all utilize the DUPR system. 

“SPORTIME Pickleball’s partnership with DUPR underscores our commitment to provide our players with the best and most diverse Pickleball programming in the Northeast”, says Joe Siegel, SPORTIME Pickleball’s Managing Director. “DUPR is the industry’s gold standard for evaluating a player’s level. Our DUPR partnership enables us to offer our players a variety of great programs and events that will allow them to compete with and against other players at their levels, which we know is critical to having a positive pickleball experience. SPORTIME and DUPR is a win-win relationship!” 

“SPORTIME Pickleball and DUPR share a common goal of making pickleball even more accessible, enjoyable and competitive for players of all levels,” says Tito Machado, CEO of DUPR. “Together, we are working to grow the game and to unify the sport for all players under a single common language. Clubs and facilities across the country and around the world look to SPORTIME for inspiration in growing pickleball in their communities, and we are proud to enhance their efforts to drive even more fun pickleball playing opportunities and continue to support the growth of the game.” 

DUPR evaluates players based on match results to provide a real-time, reliable assessment of their skill levels. The dynamic rating system analyzes a player’s match results on a scale ranging in value from 2.000 - 8.000. All players, regardless of their age, gender or location, are rated on the same scale, making it easier to organize and find competitive, level-based play. 

With 68 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts across multiple locations, including Central Long Island, the Hamptons, Westchester County, New York City and the Capital Region, SPORTIME Pickleball is New York’s largest and most active pickleball community. This fall, SPORTIME will open new, dedicated, state-of-the-art, pickleball facilities in Englewood, NJ and Westbury, NY. The 30,000 square foot Englewood site will feature 12 indoor, climate-controlled courts, a pro shop and great social spaces. The Westbury site will be the largest indoor pickleball facility in New York State, and will feature 13 indoor courts, with great amenities. In the next 24 months, SPORTIME Pickleball will be opening additional sites in Armonk, NY, Yorktown Heights, NY, and Wayne, NJ. 

To learn more about SPORTIME Pickleball’s programming, please visit https://sportimepickleball.com/. 

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About DUPR presented by Delaware Life 

DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) presented by Delaware Life, is the premier global pickleball rating system and technology platform, trusted by the world's leading clubs, tournaments, leagues, and players. DUPR's dynamic rating system unifies pickleball across age, gender, and location by analyzing match results to accurately evaluate all players across a 2.000 - 8.000 scale. 

DUPR is the official pickleball rating of leagues, tournaments and clubs around the world, including UPA, PPA, MLP, Pickleball.com, LifeTime, The Picklr, National Team Pickleball League, National Pickleball League, Pickleball England and Asian Pickleball Association, among others. Players and operators can visit www.dupr.com to sign up and learn more. 

About SPORTIME Pickleball

SPORTIME Pickleball will operate dedicated pickleball sites throughout the Northeast and is poised to become the leading pickleball club operator in the NY Tri-State area and beyond. SPORTIME’s existing infrastructure, management, programming expertise, and player database of more than 40,000 active members/players, provides the organization with the resources and foundation to ambitiously scale. SPORTIME recently opened the largest indoor pickleball facility on Long Island: a 12 court facility at their Port Washington location. Each future SPORTIME Pickleball location will feature 10-20 state-of-the-art pickleball courts that will be available for social and competitive open play sessions, court-time rentals, tournaments, clinics, instruction, and private events. Some locations will also feature restaurant and event spaces.

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¿Estás listo para vivir una aventura que cambiará tu vida y te pondrá en el mapa del pickleball mundial? Esta es tu gran oportunidad.

El Registro Profesional de Pickleball y DUPR han decidido hacer historia y, para ello, vamos a patrocinar a 2 hombres y 2 mujeres españoles para que representen a nuestro país en la Pickleball World Cup en Lima, Perú. Todos los gastos están cubiertos, desde el viaje hasta la estancia. ¡Lo único que necesitas traer es tu pasión y tu talento!

Imagina esto: 32 países, un solo ganador. Del 22 al 28 de octubre, se llevará a cabo un torneo épico donde  jugadores de todo el mundo se enfrentarán para llevarse la gloria y el honor de su nación. ¡Y tú podrías estar ahí, defendiendo la bandera de España!

Y no termina ahí... Los ganadores de la Pickleball World Cup se asegurarán un lugar en la Pickleball World Series en Dubai en 2025. Un torneo que no solo te dará la oportunidad de competir contra los mejores, sino también de ganar un impresionante premio de $1.5 millones.

Si tu DUPR es inferior a 5.5, estás a un paso de ser seleccionado para esta increíble aventura. ¡Esta es tu oportunidad de brillar en el escenario global, de convertirte en una leyenda del pickleball y de hacer historia para España!

¿Te atreves a soñar en grande? ¿Tienes lo que se necesita para unirte al Team DUPR Spain y dejar tu huella en el mundo del pickleball?

El mundo te espera. ¡Vamos a hacer historia juntos!

¡Regístrese ahora!