The Untold Story Of MLP's 2025 Season: Why Home Team Advantage Could Be A Game Changer

Source: Major League Pickleball

Much of the buzz around the 2025 Major League Pickleball season has focused on one headline-grabbing change: the shift from rally scoring to traditional side out scoring in doubles matches. And while that scoring update is certainly worth the conversation, there's another new rule that’s flying under the radar—one that could significantly tilt the competitive landscape.

Let’s talk about the new Home Team Advantage rule.

It hasn’t made many headlines yet, but its implications could run deeper than any format change. This seemingly small procedural tweak gives designated home teams the ability to shape matchups in a way that could ultimately decide outcomes before a single ball is even served.

So, What’s The Rule?

According to the 2025 MLP Rules Guide:

“Teams designated as the ‘Home’ team for a match will be responsible for submitting their player lineup… by 10pm local time the night before scheduled matches. ‘Home’ teams will be able to see the opponent’s lineups and respond to the gender, mixed, and DreamBreaker lineups.”

That last sentence is where the magic—or controversy—lies.

Why This Is A Big Deal

In previous seasons, mixed doubles and DreamBreaker lineups were shaped through a coin toss that allowed teams to react strategically. Each team got two of four decisions: serve or receive, side selection, mixed doubles order, and DreamBreaker lineup.

Winning the toss often meant choosing to react to the opponent’s mixed doubles pairings. That was valuable because it gave teams the chance to create favorable matchups—either to protect a lead or make a strategic push when behind.

Now, in 2025, the home team gets to make that reaction automatically. There’s no coin toss. No shared control. The advantage of crafting a tailored matchup falls squarely in the hands of the designated home team.

And this isn’t just for mixed doubles. The home team also gets to react to the DreamBreaker lineup, a segment that often determines close matches.

It’s a tactical edge that, on paper, feels subtle—but in practice, could be massive.

What About Home Game Distribution?

Here’s where the plot thickens.

Each Premier-level MLP team will play 25 matches over five of the ten regular season events in 2025. Naturally, this means teams will have a mix of “home” and “away” designations—but not necessarily an equal number.

In a perfect world, every team would get 13 home matches and 12 away (or vice versa), but with 16 teams and multiple moving parts, the balance isn’t guaranteed.

Why does this matter? Because in 2024, home versus away was largely ceremonial. Now, it’s a legitimate advantage—one that could influence standings, playoff qualifications, and even championship outcomes.

A New Variable To Track: Home Advantage + Strength Of Schedule

This rule change introduces a new kind of imbalance into the mix—alongside the already hot topic of strength of schedule.

In 2024, The Dink’s Erik Tice noted that teams like the New Jersey 5s had easier paths based on opponent win percentages, while others like the Columbus Sliders faced tougher climbs. The result? New Jersey made the playoffs; Columbus didn’t.

Now, if some teams are also playing more matches with the home team privilege, the gap could widen.

Are we on the cusp of a season where team performance is as much about front-office logistics as it is about on-court execution? Possibly.

What To Watch For

The MLP hasn’t released full team schedules yet—they’ll come closer to each event—but when they do, pay attention not just to who each team plays, but how often they’re listed as the home team.

With this new rule in place, a team’s chances in any given match might be heavily influenced by when and how often they get to play the chessboard from the stronger position.

The 2025 season kicks off at MLP Orlando from April 24–27 at the USTA National Campus, where all 16 Premier-level teams will be in action. It’s the first true test of the league’s evolving format—and the first look at how meaningful this new rule could be.

So, next time you're tuning into a match on PickleballTV, don't just ask who’s playing. Ask who’s home.

It might matter more than you think.