Aanik Lohani and Manik Tandon met on the Cornelia Elementary School playground in 2005. Their friendship is rooted in the love of sport and competition. Like so many others, pickleball started as a casual activity but has grown into an obsession. The PickleBoys was born from Aanik and Manik’s vision to foster an inclusive community where players develop skills and have fun on and off the court.

Leading up to his successful pickleball career, Aanik got his start in tennis accumulating multiple team and individual state appearances, all-conference titles, and one team MVP award. In college, he led the Gophers club tennis team to 3 nationals appearances where they finished as high as 8th in the nation. With this experience, his transition into pickleball was quite seamless.

Turning pro in 2022, Aanik climbed the rankings by defeating well-established players and breaking into the top singles bracket all in his pro-debut year, sitting at #20 in the world currently. Juggling it all, Aanik still works a full time job as a Data Engineering Manager.

Manik’s obsession for pickleball began when his girlfriend’s mom beat him in a game decisively [Score Redacted]. Since then, he has been practicing and playing in hopes to beat her one day, but she has yet to accept a rematch. Manik has been playing since 2022, and he has multiple local 5.0 and Open Division Men’s and Mixed Doubles wins. Manik is excited to bring his knowledge and lively personality to The PickleBoys.

Playing and training with each other over the last couple of years has ignited a passion Aanik and Manik share for building community and helping others on the court. The PickleBoys combine their gifts of knowledge, charm, and enthusiasm to provide a truly exceptional experience in helping others learn and grow in the sport of pickleball.