Cebu pickleball community gets homegrown ranking system

CEBU CITY, Philippines — As pickleball continues to enjoy a meteoric rise across the Philippines, one issue has persisted in Cebu’s rapidly growing community: the absence of a standardized local ranking system.

Without an official database to accurately classify players based on skill level, tournaments have often been marred by protests over mismatched divisions, allegations of “sandbagging,” and disputes involving experienced players competing in beginner brackets.

Hoping to address those long-standing concerns, a group of Cebuano pickleball enthusiasts has introduced PickleRank Philippines (PickleRank PH), a homegrown platform designed to provide a localized player rating system while streamlining tournament management.

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The platform is led by father-and-daughter tandem Howard and Althea Lazarte, who said they developed PickleRank PH after recognizing the gaps in the local pickleball scene.

According to Howard Lazarte, one of the biggest challenges tournament organizers face is the lack of a reliable ranking system that can objectively determine where players should compete.

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“Ang among ranking system is duha, ang personal rankings and matchmaking rankings. Naa pud mi separate rankings sa tournament rankings which only applies when you join a tournament. So, dili siya pwede nga mo ingon sila mag-sandbagging para mo-down ang rank para maka-compete ka sa beginners. So, ang mahitabo, you can only rank during the tournament, so, dili na matandog imong ranking. Mao na ang pinaka-big difference niya,” Lazarte explained.

(Our ranking system has two categories: personal rankings and matchmaking rankings. We also have a separate tournament ranking, which only applies when you join a tournament. Because of this, players can’t deliberately lower their rank through sandbagging just to compete in the beginner division. Your tournament rank is determined only by your performance during the tournament, so it doesn’t affect your personal ranking. That’s the biggest difference in our system.)

Under PickleRank PH, players are assigned two separate ratings: a personal rating and a matchmaking rating. Tournament performances are recorded independently, preventing players from intentionally lowering their overall ratings simply to qualify for lower divisions in future competitions.

Lazarte said the system was inspired by the globally recognized Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) but tailored specifically for the Philippine pickleball community.

“Nindot siya kay global, pero we need to have our own rankings sa Philippines kay walay mo-oversee kay global man. Here sa PickleRank PH, our passion is to promote the sport based on our culture,” he said.

(It’s great because it’s global, but we need to have our own ranking system in the Philippines since there’s no local body overseeing it under the global system. Here at PickleRank PH, our passion is to promote the sport in a way that reflects our own culture.)

Beyond player ratings, PickleRank PH also offers tournament management services, including online registration, player bracketing, payment processing, live updates, court bookings, and other community-driven features.

The platform has already been used in several tournaments, including the recently concluded Blazing Torch and True Edge Cup organized by the Antorcha de la Libertad Lodge No. 2 and Espada de Rectitud Lodge No. 3 under The Sovereign Grand Lodge of Visayas and Mindanao–Gran Logia Soberana del Archipielago Filipino (TSGLVM-GLSdAF).

To ensure impartial officiating, PickleRank PH has also partnered with Bola Pickleball PH, which will oversee tournament operations and validate player rankings.

Tournament organizer Allan Borres Delantar believes the ranking system could significantly reduce disputes that have become commonplace in local competitions.

“Daghan kaayo ug reklamo based sa among previous tournaments kay wala tay formal rankings. Wala tay basis ani nga player. So dako gyud ug tabang nga naa na ta ranking system sa pickleball,” Delantar said.

(There were so many complaints during our previous tournaments because we didn’t have a formal ranking system. We had no basis for determining a player’s skill level. That’s why having a pickleball ranking system will be a huge help.)

Lazarte emphasized that joining the ranking system remains voluntary, with players free to participate through either the individual rating system or the tournament-specific rankings.

As pickleball’s popularity continues to surge in Cebu and across the country, the founders of PickleRank PH hope their localized approach will help create a fairer and more organized competitive environment while giving players and tournament organizers a reliable benchmark for competition.

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