NML’s 2026 UPA Power Rankings v. 3.0 – Men

(1) Ben Johns – It’s easier to have a discussion about why other players might be better than Ben. However, it is a pointless discussion until the results start changing. Yes, it has been 4 men’s events without a gold but it is clear that one of Ben’s flaws is his inability to be malleable with different partners. Ben remains l the #1 men’s player in the world…for now.

(2) Hayden Patriquin – Hayden keeps getting better and his high highs are as high as they have ever been. The partnership with Staksrud always made more sense than the more erratic play and mental psyche of Christian Alshon. 

(3) JW Johnson – The Dallas Flash trading away Jorja Johnson might be the best thing that has happened to JW Johnson’s game. He is playing a bigger and more aggressive mixed, and his men’s continues grow. The hands remain the best the game of pickleball has to offer. We’ll see how this Tama men’s partnership grows. 

(4) Gabe Tardio – Not much has changed for Gabe in the last few months. He is the best right sider in the men’s game and he is a very good, but not great, mixed player. 

(5) Federico Staksrud – Staksrud gets the nod here in the #5 spot after an MLP championship and some amazing right side results with Hayden. 

(6) Christian Alshon – Left-side Christian in men’s is back. He spent the entire MLP season playing on the left and he will now do the same with Andrei Daescu in this old-new partnership.  

(7) Eric Oncins – The men’s partnership with CJ Klinger has been disappointing to start and we wonder if a change is made if the results don’t start improving. The mixed has been very strong. 

(8) Andrei Daescu – Not much has changed for Daescu nor do we expect it to change in the very near future, other than he is now a right sider in men’s. He is the truest pros pro on the men’s side and his standing in the game reflects that. 

(9) Nico Acevedo – Nico’s MLP season ended up getting a little overlooked after he (rightfully) had to concede the left to Eric Oncins and figure out how to play the right. He has been a beast to start this new PPA season and is clearly one of the next rising stars of the sport. As we always say, winning with different partners, particularly ones that don’t get the same level of results without you, is often a very good sign.

(10) Jaume Martinez Vich – Jaume’s MLP transition to the right side seems to have been a major benefit to him as he had a solid MLP season and has parlayed that into some strong results with Nico Acevedo in men’s.  He also won a gold on the left with Elliott Schupp in Virginia Beach. 

(11) CJ Klinger – The men’s remains in the upper echelon of the sport but it has been a less than ideal start to his partnership with Eric Oncins. Klinger had a great result in Chicago with Kiora Kunimoto but his mixed results have not been ideal either.  

(12) Tama Shimabukuro – Tama was #10 in our last iteration of our power rankings and we have him at #12 this time around. It hasn’t been a world beating start to the new PPA season but we have to expect bigger things to come from the youngster. However, we don’t think it is optimal that he is parked on the right with JW Johnson.

(13) Elliott Schupp – This is an aggressive power ranking but recency bias is the name of the power rankings game and there is a big tier drop after this for us. Schupp has been beastly since signing with the UPA. Good results with different partners. You do wonder if there is some market correction in his future as players get more accustomed to his game.

(14) Will Howells – The men’s talent pool is deep, but it gets pretty muddy in terms of talent from this point onwards. Howells has been up and down to start the new PPA season, and there may be some stagnating results happening here. 

(15) Noe Khlif – This honestly feels too high for Noe, who has seen a dip in recent mixed results with Tina Pisnik. We’re not sure how much higher the ceiling can get, but Khlif continues to offer a safe, dependable floor, for the most part. 

(16) Dylan Frazier – It’s tough sledding for a guy without the physical traits that allow him to compete with the very best in the game anymore. Frazier has evolved, but his stick in, especially when it comes to his mixed results.  

(17) Riley Newman – Riley’s funky grip will always cap his ceiling, but he is playing the best pickleball that he has played in some time. The hands are elite, the power is not and the forehand is definitely not. 

(18) Dekel Bar – It is clear to us that Dekel is best suited for a right side role in men’s doubles. What has been interesting is that Dekel seems to have really dialed down his court coverage in mixed, which we have seen as a positive for him. 

(19) Augie Ge – We bumped Augie up a few spots from the last time we did this but Augie feels like an is-what-he-is guy, at this point. A solid, unspectacular pro on tour. 

(20) Jack Sock – Another faller in our power rankings. We had Jack at #15 in our last iteration of the power rankings but the consistency we saw with his results in the first half of the calendar year seem like a distant memory. The positives are that he had a good little run in Vegas and looks to be in the best shape of his pickleball career. The negatives are that he lost both doubles matches in the round of 32 in Chicago, including a partnership with the best man in the world. 

(21) Pablo Tellez – Pablo has had a good 2026 season overall. We’ll see what the result of the year brings for the lefty.  

(22) Jonathan Truong – We didn’t see the jump we expected to see from Truong in his first MLP season and into this new PPA season. We still believe in the talent overall and he had a good run with Jessie Irvine in Hong Kong. 

(23) Armaan Bhatia – Bhatia remains one to watch. Injuries derailed the end of his MLP season, but the tools are all there for someone who just needs more consistent reps at this level.  

(24) Roscoe Bellamy – Roscoe is working. We know he can be a monster in singles, but the doubles is finally coming around. He’s a bit unique in the sense that he is becoming a scary name to see in a mixed draw with his singles skillset, but he plays a big right side in men’s typically. 

(25) John Lucian Goins – A good second half of the year with the Chicago Slice, a strong run with Elliott Schupp in Vegas and some generally improving results in PPA events make Goins a riser after him being a stock down guy to start the 2026 MLP season. 

(26) Anouar Braham – It has been a slowish burn for Braham starting with his rise up the Challenger ranks, to his first MLP season and now getting some big-time results as one of the hardest hitters on tour. The win against Ben/Jack Sock doesn’t mean much to us. However, the overall body of his results has been improving, including a very impressive mixed win with Mya Bui over Tina Pisnik/Noe Khlif in Chicago.

(27) Cam Chaffin – He is slowly finding some real doubles results both in MLP and now on the PPA. The kids have insane growth potential, and we have to expect that Chaffin is going to keep rising. 

(28) Yuta Funemizu –Yuta’s funky grip is proving to be a really tough thing for opponents to handle. Yuta is in a different boat as riders like Acevedo and Schupp in that the bigger question is whether he can get higher end results in less optimal partnerships (i.e. not Tama and Acevedo).

(29) Len Yang – We’re not sure where the ceiling is for Len but he has made himself into a very solid pro. 

(30) Connor Garnett – Garnett would be higher in a basic rankings post, but our power rankings have him lower after an underwhelming MLP season and start to the new PPA season. 

Notable Omissions

Casey Diamond – We have not been big Casey Diamond guys, but we can’t ignore the better than expected results (at least for us). The Sofia Sewing partnership is a higher level one than a guy of Diamond’s stature would normally be getting. Nevertheless, he has showed since the MLP season that he is not completely out of place with the big dogs. 

Max Freeman – Are we Max Freeman haters? We continue to be underwhelmed after a full MLP season playing next to Ben Johns. If the results don’t come soon, it might be curtains on the high-end potential for Mr. Freeman. 

Collin Johns – It is worth recognizing the pivot Collin made to his career by becoming the guy to steer to Asian pickleball ship. A truly elite move that has also allowed him to rejuvenate his playing career post-Ben. 

Jay Devilliers – Jay has signed with the APP and is not competing on the PPA for the foreseeable future. The bronze stallion brought unmatched grit and determination to the court. RIP to the bronze stallion’s PPA career…for now. The APP results have been a little lackluster so far.

Blaine Hovenier – He remains on the notable omissions list as he’s a fun player who may be capable of getting some better results. 

Tyson McGuffin – The evolution has finally stagnated for Tyson McGuffin. We drop him out of our top 30 on the power rankings after a rough MLP season. This is a doubles power rankings list, but he is pretty much irrelevant as a singles player, at this point in his career. 

Will MacKinnon – It might not be happening for the talented, yet erratic, young Willsy. He’s still young but we’re almost a full year into his pro career without any noticeable uptick in his results. 

Joey Wild – A notable silver medal (almost gold) run with Danni-Elle Townsend in Kuala Lumpur a while back, losing barely to Gabe Tardio and Jessie Irvine in the finals