What is college pickleball?

College pickleball is exactly what it sounds like: pickleball played between college clubs, with its own governing body, its own season, and its own path to the pros. If you've never watched a match or you're wondering how it's different from picking up a paddle with friends on a Saturday, here's what you need to know about how it's played, who runs it, and how fast it's grown.

How does a college pickleball match work?

Every college pickleball match is played first to three game wins, with up to five games total, in this set order:

• Women's Doubles
• Men's Doubles
• Mixed Doubles 1
• Mixed Doubles 2
• Dreambreaker

Each school brings a roster of two female and two male players, which makes college pickleball the only coed college sport in competition today! Every individual game is played to 21 points using rally scoring, meaning a point is scored on every rally no matter who served it.

What is the Dreambreaker?

The Dreambreaker is a singles game, and it's often the one that decides the match. Every player on the roster gets a turn on the court, rotating in every four points, and the score doesn't reset when the next player steps in. Whoever's on the court picks up where their teammate left off.

That rotation keeps the pressure on the whole Dreambreaker, and gives every single player on the roster a moment that can swing the outcome.

Who runs college pickleball?

Starting in 2025, the College Pickleball Tour became a partnership run by both DUPR and the UPA. Through this collaboration, the CPT has been able to establish itself as a path to pro with the top college teams playing in the MLP Mid-Season Tournament each year. The combined pickleball experience from both companies further elevates the competition at each event.

DUPR serves as the tour's official rating and data platform. Every match result feeds into a player's DUPR rating, and DUPR's algorithm is built specifically to account for rally scoring, so ratings stay accurate at every level of college play.

How big has college pickleball gotten?

College pickleball started as a single bracket. In 2022, DUPR invited the country's most active college clubs to the first College National Championship, and 16 programs showed up in Dripping Springs, Texas.

Since then, the CPT has run more than 90 events and seen over 10,000 college players compete, with a Power Rankings and Points Leaderboard tracking every team across the season. 

How to get involved in college pickleball

If your school already has a club, you can represent your school under CPT eligibility rules, which cover things like credit hours and a five-season eligibility clock. Review the eligibility rules before your first event.

If your school doesn't have a club yet, here's how to start a pickleball club at your college. Once you're playing, follow team standings and results on the College Pickleball Tour hub!

The bottom line

College pickleball has grown from one weekend in Texas into a nationwide tour with thousands of competitors, and DUPR ratings are what keep every match, from a Tuesday dual match to The Nationals, tied to the same standard. Ready to see where you fit in? Sign up for DUPR and start tracking your rating today.

‍