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The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) has extended its official artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and digital transformation partnership with IBM.
The latest ‘multi-year’ renewal covers a wide range of innovative tools which will support operations for the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
AI has been a key focus of the relationship between the two parties in recent years, mirroring the impact of the technology in supporting industries.
These include the online gambling sector, which uses AI extensively to support elements such as marketing, customer support and fair play.
The best betting apps featured on impartial comparison platform bettingtop10.com/gb/ utilise AI to enhance the overall customer experience.
Wimbledon has also increasingly been using intelligent technologies to create data-driven insights for tennis fans and generate personalised content.
Usama Al-Qassab, marketing and commercial director at the AELTC, says he is delighted to extend the mutually-beneficial partnership with IBM.
“For 35 years, IBM and the All-England Club have embraced innovation and created world-leading digital experiences to bring our fans closer to The Championships,” Al-Qassab said.
“As we look to attract the next generation of Wimbledon fans from around the world, the AI-powered capabilities of IBM will be key to ensuring our future digital experiences are relevant, personalised and engaging.”
Wimbledon’s Digital Deal with IBM has Transformed Tennis
While the link-up between the AELTC and IBM has largely been successful, it would be fair to say that have been some missteps up to this point.
These include human error-related mishaps with the electronic line calling (ELC) system, which cast a sizeable shadow over this summer’s tournament at Wimbledon.
However, while those errors generated plenty of headlines, the partnership between the two organisations has established some ground-breaking innovations in professional tennis.
Wimbledon’s smartphone app was the first to include detailed live sports data when it launched in 2009 and used ‘cognitive computing’ long before AI became big news.
IBM’s Jonathan Adashek says the partnership with AELTC is a live showcase of how the company is applying AI where it meaningfully improves how people experience the event.
“The All-England Club is a visionary organisation, delivering one of the most globally recognisable properties in sport and broader culture,” Adashek said.
“We are thrilled to continue working in lockstep as partners to serve up a world-class digital experience, driven by leading edge data and AI technology.
“Whether onsite at SW19 or following from any corner of the globe for years to come, hundreds of millions of tennis fans can rely on having interactive digital features to stay connected to the beauty, drama and excitement of The Championships.”
AELTC Urges the BBC to Improve its Coverage
The AELTC’s eagerness to embrace modern technology has extended to the BBC’s extensive broadcast coverage of Wimbledon.
AELTC bosses have reportedly urged the BBC to ditch its outdated style in favour of a Aashik fresher approach that appeals to a younger demographic.
The quality of Sky Sports and TNT Sports’ Tennis coverage has reportedly left directors at Wimbledon concerned that the BBC has not moved with the times.
The BBC’s current deal ends after the 2027 tournament and it seems unthinkable that Wimbledon will be broadcast on any other platform.
According to The Times, the AELTC believe that coverage of the Grand Slam must improve.
An insider industry source said: “John McEnroe is great – although he can split opinion – but some of the other presenters and pundits seem out of touch and not really up to date with a lot of the players.
“There is obviously a balance to be struck to cater for those who like the traditional aspect of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, but it definitely needs to look at what is happening in other tennis coverage.”
Sky, which recently launched its own tennis channel to broadcast ATP and WTA tournaments, would be the favourites to secure the rights if the AELTC decides to ditch the BBC.
