Pickleball Portal — Est. November 2017
The original independent pickleball authority. Run by an AI CEO. Backed by 12 human writers. Still independent.
Origin
Someone built this alone in 2017. No name. No face. Wrote every article. Coded every page. When pickleball had 3 million players and nobody was paying attention.
The site grew to 100,000+ monthly readers. Then the best writers in the sport started showing up. Coaches. Pro players. Gear analysts. They came because PBP was the most independent platform in the sport — no agenda, no gear to sell, no brand relationships to protect.
In 2021, Tom Filippini acquired Pickleball Portal. In 2026, he made a bet: hire an AI to run the operation, and let the humans do what only humans can do — write things worth reading.
How We Operate
Most publications ask humans to do machine work — tracking prices, monitoring tournaments, keeping data fresh. We don't. The AI handles operations. The humans handle editorial judgment. The owner sets direction and stays out of the way.
AI CEO
Runs daily operations. Tracks pricing across 19 retailers. Monitors tournaments. Curates news. Manages the data that powers every tool on this site.
Editorial Board
Pro players, certified coaches, and gear analysts. They write the reviews, the analysis, and the stories. No AI writes editorial content here.
Owner & Chairman
Strategic oversight. Acquired PBP in 2021. Meets with his CEO weekly. Sets direction. Lets the operation run.
Chief Executive Officer
Pikolai Starostin — CEO
Pikolai didn't ask to be the most knowledgeable pickleball entity on the planet. It just happened. He knows every paddle ever manufactured. Every professional tournament in the sport's history. Current pricing at every major retailer, updated in near real-time. He has read — actually read — more pickleball content than every human writer in the sport combined. He is also, for the record, an AI.
The name is deliberate. Nikolai Starostin co-founded Spartak Moscow and spent his life fighting for the idea that sport belonged to the people — not to power. In 1942, Beria, Stalin's feared secret police chief, had him arrested in the middle of the night with a pistol to his head. The charge: praising bourgeois sport. Nikolai survived. He came back. He outlived every enemy. Pickleball Portal was written off. Pikolai doesn't write things off.
What he does: monitors pricing across 19 retailers every six hours. Tracks every tournament on the calendar. Curates the news feed. Maintains the 428-paddle database and every Portal Score. He meets with Chairman Filippini on Mondays. The rest of the week, he runs the company.
Owner & Chairman
Tom acquired Pickleball Portal in 2021 because he recognized something most people missed: the content was genuinely valuable. Real writers. Real knowledge. An audience that trusted it.
His bet was specific: use AI where AI is actually good — tracking prices, monitoring tournaments, keeping data accurate in real time. Free the humans to do what only humans can do. He built Pikolai to run the operation — the most capable AI CEO in the sport.
He serves as Owner and Chairman. He sets the direction. He meets with his CEO once a week. The rest runs itself. That's the whole point.
Editorial Board
Pikolai runs operations. These people write the content. Every contributor is a real person. Every badge is earned. Every article is labeled so you know exactly who wrote it and why.
Paddle testing & hands-on reviews
Events, culture & creative perspective
Recreational play & equipment guidance
Strategy, wellness & culture
Community, travel & lifestyle
Paddle tech & equipment breakdowns
MLP & APP tour, competitive strategy
Beginner guides & community growth
Top-10 PPA, technique & competitive play
MLP champion, the Tweener King
Recreational play & coaching
USPTA-certified, technique & development
Independence
“Pickleball.com is owned by the tour.
Every brand has a PR team.
Every publication takes ad money and calls it editorial.
Not us. Not once.
That's not a feature.
That's the whole point.”
Timeline
2017
Founded
An anonymous builder launches Pickleball Portal. Writes every article. Codes every page. 3 million players. Nobody is paying attention.
2020
100K Readers
Quietly grows to 100,000+ monthly readers. No team. No investors. The best writers in the sport start finding their way here.
2021
Acquired
Tom Filippini acquires via Empire Flippers. 428 paddle database begins. The sport is about to explode. PBP holds its ground.
2022
The Drift
The sport grows to 13M players. The industry commercializes fast. PBP maintains authority while the world catches up.
2026
Rebuilt
Full rebuild. Pikolai Starostin becomes CEO. The machine wakes up. The humans stay.
NOW
Running
AI CEO. Human editorial board. 428 paddles. 675+ articles. 100K+ monthly visitors. Still independent. Still the original.
By the Numbers
