India’s Stupa Sports Expands Reach, Gives English Open in Birmingham Serious Technology Update
Pickleball’s biggest indoor tournament is about to be run with rather more precision than usual. Stupa Sports, the India-headquartered sports technology and analytics firm that’s quietly become one of the sector’s leading AI players, has signed a three-year agreement with Pickleball England to serve as the official data and technology partner for the English Open, running from 11 to 16 August 2026.
It’s a fitting year for the deal to land. The tournament—the largest indoor pickleball event anywhere in the world—moves to a new home this year at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, giving Stupa Sports a genuinely large stage to demonstrate what it’s built.
“Our partnership with Pickleball England reflects a shared vision of using technology to elevate officiating, broadcasting, and fan engagement. As pickleball continues its remarkable global growth, tournaments need technology that can keep pace with the sport’s evolution. Through our AI-powered Decision Review System, real-time match analytics, and broadcast solutions, we aim to deliver greater accuracy, transparency and a richer experience for players, officials and fans. We are excited to bring these innovations to one of Europe’s premier pickleball events.”
– Megha Gambhir, Co-Founder and CEO of Stupa Sports
What’s Actually Changing on Court
The partnership isn’t a token sponsorship arrangement. Stupa Sports is bringing a genuinely comprehensive technology package to the event, built around three main pillars. There’s AI-powered Match Analytics, delivering real-time data and performance insight to players, coaches, broadcasters, commentators, and fans alike. Sitting alongside it is an automated Decision Review System, using Video Assistant Referee-style technology to fully automate line calling—the sort of tool designed to take contentious moments out of officials’ hands entirely and put fairness and consistency in their place instead. Round out the package with dynamic broadcast and LED graphics for live scores and match insight, plus professional live-streaming production for fans following from anywhere in the world, and it starts to look less like an add-on and more like a full operational overhaul.
Founded on the idea that Indian sports technology deserves a genuine seat at the international table, Stupa Sports has spent recent years moving well beyond simple performance analytics. Officiating tools, live scoring, tournament administration, broadcast intelligence—the company has steadily built out a portfolio that now spans several racquet and team sports, and this deal slots neatly into that broader trajectory.
A Growing Global Footprint for Stupa Sports
Gambhir, Stupa Sports’ CEO, framed the partnership as a shared belief that officiating, broadcasting, and fan engagement all need technology capable of keeping pace with a sport growing as quickly as pickleball currently is, and said the goal is greater accuracy and transparency for players, officials, and fans alike at one of Europe’s premier events.
Karen Mitchell, CEO of Pickleball England, struck a similarly forward-looking note, pointing to the English Open’s growing scale as the reason for investing in this kind of innovation, and expressing confidence that the partnership will lift tournament operations to a genuinely higher standard.
“As the English OPEN continues to grow in scale and stature, we remain committed to investing in innovations that enhance the competition experience. Stupa Sports brings valuable expertise in sports technology, and we are excited to work together. We believe this partnership will help us deliver an even higher standard of tournament operations and create a memorable experience for players and fans.”
– Karen Mitchell, CEO of Pickleball England
This isn’t Stupa Sports’ first high-profile assignment, either. The company already serves as Official Competition Management Partner for Table Tennis New Zealand, holds BWF certification for its AI-powered Instant Review System across sanctioned badminton tournaments, acts as Data and Technology Partner for the Pickleball Champions League Asia Finals, deployed its Stupa Cast platform at the Generali Hexagon Cup Padel tournament, and provides AI analytics for both Major League Table Tennis and the Prime Volleyball League—alongside a growing presence in Oceania through agreements with Table Tennis Australia.
Taken together, it’s a portfolio that makes Birmingham feel less like a one-off booking and rather more like the next stop on a company that’s building itself into genuine global sports-tech infrastructure—one increasingly proud of doing it from India outward.
