The Report
Singles deserves more than 15%
Good morning, pickleballers.
Four stories today. Why singles deserves more than 15% of the World Pickleball Rankings. What Singapore and Beihai say about Southeast Asia's amateur boom. Why USA Pickleball's spin cap is real but invisible on its paddle list. And why, in a one-point match, you should choose to receive. Plus, around the world: Brunei, Laos, Singapore and the Philippines.
The numbers are in the pieces. Here are the calls.
The Lead · World Pickleball Rankings
Twelve out of twelve: why singles deserves more than 15%
WPR is 0.5 doubles + 0.35 mixed + 0.15 singles. The men's world top 12 is exactly the men's doubles top 12; only four of those twelve are in the singles top 12. Hunter Johnson's Hong Kong Slam singles title was worth 225 WPR points. A doubles semi-final loss is worth 375.
Our reconstruction of the rankings matches the official table, and under a 40/35/25 weighting the Finals top eight do not change. Break-even for a singles specialist like Christopher Haworth is about 31%.
Why it matters: if Worlds is sold as the complete player, the formula should not treat a singles title as three-fifths of a doubles semi loss. Our call is 25%.
Southeast Asia · Amateur boom
The players are travelling now: Singapore and Beihai
The OCBC-Great Eastern Pickleball Open put more than 1,000 amateurs aged 13–75 on court at OCBC Arena in Singapore, with over 600 matches. Punnee Amornviputpanich, 56, travelled from Thailand for her first competitive tournament.
The same weekend, a self-funded Vietnam team topped the Beihai Open medal table with six golds. The Vietnam Pickleball Federation was founded in July.
Why it matters: the limit now is floor space and funding, not appetite. PPA Tour Asia's first four 2027 stops are Bangkok, Manila, Penang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Equipment · USA Pickleball
Forty-five out of 5,408: the spin cap is real, the list can't show you where
Since 1 October, new USA Pickleball certifications must spin at or under 2,100 RPM. Four weeks in, only 45 of 5,408 paddles on the approved list were added on or after that date — about 0.8%.
Open any entry and you get brand, model and a Pass mark. You do not get a spin figure, and you do not get the testing standard. The equipment manual is still Revision 3 and does not mention spin.
Why it matters: the cap is real for new submissions. Nothing already certified became illegal. Federations from Canada to England still point at the same list.
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Coaching · One-point matches
How to win a one-point pickleball match: choose to receive
CityPickle's One Point Slam at Times Square on 17 October paid $5,000 for a single rally. If you win the toss, choose to receive.
WPM club data from published return-depth studies: the returning team wins about 59% of rallies at 3.5 and above. A team that wins 53% of rallies wins a game to 11 about two-thirds of the time — and only 53% of a one-point match.
Why it matters: deep return, both to the kitchen, never fault the serve, feet behind the line. In one point, the toss beats being the better team.
Around the world
Bank teams, hometown clubs and a bedroom court
Brunei: Rival banks BIBD and Baiduri Bank traded paddles, sending 32 staff (16 each) to a friendly at PGGMB, Bandar Seri Begawan. United Daily News · PNA
Laos: The Association of Vietnamese People in Vientiane ran an eight-team hometown-club tournament on 25 October, ahead of Vietnam's Great National Solidarity Day. Hanoi beat Nghe An to the title. PNA, via VNA
Singapore: Ten seniors from OCBC's free programme (target: 100 seniors in two years) played the Novice draw at the 1,000-player OCBC-Great Eastern Open. The oldest was 75. OCBC
Philippines: Boxing great Manny Pacquiao caught his wife, Jinkee, practising in the bedroom and joked about building a court there. Politiko
That's the Report
Singles undervalued, amateurs travelling, a spin cap you cannot see on the list, and a one-point rule: receive. Worlds starts on 2 November.