Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making its way into every facet of our everyday lives, and it’s no surprise that technology has been improving in the tennis world. While many people worry about what the future of AI holds, it may actually be beneficial for players, coaches, and audiences alike to take advantage of the rapid changes in our resources.

AI is changing the way players adapt to match results, with the development of new tracking and analysis systems as seen in apps like Swing Vision and Clutch. Diverging from traditional human analysts assessing game footage, advanced computer vision algorithms are now able to follow players’ movements with extraordinary precision. By tracking players’ every swing, every bolt across the court, and the exact trajectory of the ball, players gain more insight on their individual statistics. It also allows for strategy and performance prediction, better equipping players for future matches.

So far, tennis has already been making visible technological change. The installation of the Hawkeye, a computer vision system, has made line calling more accurate and avoids conflicts between the players, line judge officials, and the umpire. IBM projects player statistics and predictions on live broadcasts, training their AI models on millions of past data points. AI-powered voice assistants have even connected to smart home devices such as the Amazon Alexa, relaying information to radio and podcast stations for international audiences.

Players, coaches, and audiences alike can now access incredibly detailed information at the tips of their fingers, from serve accuracy, to shot placement, to shot speed and rate of spin. AI’s quickly-produced statistics allow players to better adapt their game strategy, coaches to make better informed decisions, and audiences to deeper understand the complexity of the game. Not only that, but these advanced technologies are able to sift through hours of match footage and discard any clips of inactive play, leaving you with a significantly reduced video of point play. Clutch is also capable of creating “highlight reels,” extracting only the most pivotal and exciting points based on score, audience reactions, and the match context. The USTA has said in the past that they were incapable of creating highlight videos for every match in the US Open (and many were without commentary), but the use of AI can make coverage on more matches possible. Journalists and reporters will also be able to pull from AI generated match summaries and infographics in their media reports.

 

However, AI is far from perfected. The systems are trained on existing data, but there are still instances of error and hallucinations. Humans are needed to do quality checks on AI commentary, but as the models advance and become more accurate, human intervention will be reduced.

When it comes to the future of AI within tennis, we are looking at more data-driven competition, more optimized performance, more enhanced communication between coaches and players, and more accessibility and engagement for audiences. We’ve already seen glimpses of AI becoming more integrated within live matches and sports commentating, better informing audiences and aspiring players who seek to learn from the professionals. Tennis is a game of intelligence, and while it is still developing, AI is making the game smarter––and more competitive.