IBM and The All England Lawn Tennis Club have introduced a new feature called “Catch Me Up,” which uses AI technology to improve the Wimbledon digital experience. IBM is a prominent global provider of hybrid cloud and AI.
This feature provides personalised pre- and post-match player cards, AI-generated player stories, and analysis. It is integrated into both Wimbledon.com and the Wimbledon 2024 App.
“Catch Me Up” uses IBM’s Watsonx AI and data platform to give personalized daily summaries, match analysis, and real-time updates to tennis fans worldwide. The program aims to expand content distribution to include wheelchair events through IBM Slamtracker.
According to a recent IBM and Morning Consult survey, there is a positive reception of artificial intelligence (AI) in sports, with 55% of tennis fans anticipating a positive impact. This indicates the need for real-time updates, personalized content, and unique insights that align with fan preferences, particularly for the summarization and personalization of sports content.
All England Club’s Chris Clements highlights the All England Club’s dedication to providing top-notch Wimbledon experiences and praises generative AI for its scalable and personalized content delivery. IBM’s Jonathan Adashek concurs, emphasizing generative AI’s potential to create compelling storytelling and enhance fan experiences.
“We can use the power of generative AI to deliver compelling, insight-driven storytelling at scale,” stated Jonathan Adashek, referring to the recently launched Catch Me Up function.
The poll also indicates that a wide range of tennis-related topics, such as fan interaction, training innovations, game strategy, coaching, and talent spotting, see technology favorably. When watching sports, fans frequently use various devices for information gathering, watching multiple matches at once, and interacting with other fans.
By meeting fan preferences for individualized, perceptive, and captivating content distribution during significant events like The Championships at Wimbledon, IBM and Wimbledon’s partnership demonstrates the expanding influence of AI in sports.