Sunday, September 28, 2025 (Court Day #855)

Frabrizio texted me this morning, saying, “Now you’re 3.9! Lol let’s get you some more rated matches!” So, 4.044 for a long time, down to 3.3, and now back up to 3.9. Of course, Frabrizio wants me to participate in more of his local rated round robins and mini tournaments. If I was retired, that be pretty easy, but I’m not. I have this thing called work.

It’s easy to get caught up in your DUPR rating when ego gets involved. People look you up on the app and judge you. The problem is when that number doesn’t reflect your true skill level. Do I think that 3.9 is accurate? No, I still think it is a little low, but it’s definitely more accurate than 3.3! I think more accurate would be 4.1 or 4.2, but I would have to play against better players to determine my rating. Maybe it should even be higher than that, I honestly don’t know.

Rain

It rained overnight and the ground was wet. A notice went out that club play at Derby Park was delayed an hour—not that I was heading there, but it’s a good indicator of local weather.

It was still overcast when I made my way to Brommer Park shortly before 10 a.m. It wasn’t cold though, it was still 66°F. That meant it would likely be a bit muggy today.

Brommer Park

I pulled into Brommer at 10:01 a.m. and parking was easy.

Tony and I played against Kim and someone who I forget. Regardless, it was a close game.

Next up, young Jordan and I played against Dan Dewey and Dave Ryan. We lost 7-11. But I had some consolation that outplayed my partner in this one.

Dave and I teamed up and won 11-5 against Shawnté and Jordan.

We had a rematch and we won again 11-6.

Book Covers

Dave Van Ness, the Cabrillo tennis coach, showed up and he and I played a game against Shawnté and a woman named Rachel. Judging a book by its cover, I was expecting Rachael to be a 2.5 level player or maybe a 3.0. I was playing a bit lazily and she took advantage a few times. I had been making an effort to hit more to Shawnté to keep the game from being too boring but turned out Rachael was a decent 3.5 player.

11:54 a.m. and it was time to go. I need to get home, eat, and head to Skypark to teach my pickleball classes.

It is still overcast and 68° when I left. And as I had expected it was definitely humid.

And?

Overall, I felt somewhat satisfied about my play. However, I hit far too many drop shots into the white tape or some even lower into the net. It was annoying.

Monday, September 29, 2025 (No Play)

Funniest invention ever:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPML6MzkXUS/
The paddle flask! Rather useless, but amusing, nonetheless!

DUPR

Frabrizio’s report of my rating climbing back up was accurate. My DUPR reliability score is still very low, at 15%. That means it can still swing up or down relatively easily.

Number of days on a court: 855
Number of total hours: 3,291.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 167.5

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