Racket Tech Today

• CourtReserve Launches Branded Mobile App

• USPTA & SportsEdTV Team Up to Promote Racquet Sports Professionals and Sponsorship Sale

• How 2K Sports brought its tennis video game back to life

• USTA invests in an electronic line-calling system to be used in
  recreational tennis

• ATP approves in-competition wearables to enhance player performance & recovery

• Wimbledon and IBM launch Catch Me Up

• Video: FUTURE TENNIS TECH (How tennis is being revolutionized by Technology)

CourtReserve Launches Branded Mobile App
The next step in court management from CourtReserve

This cutting-edge app is designed to take your tennis & pickleball club's management to the next level, offering a seamless and customized experience for your members right from their smartphones.

Why a Branded Mobile App?
In today's fast-paced world, convenience and accessibility are paramount. Our branded mobile app ensures that your members can easily book & pay for courts, register for events, and manage their accounts anytime, anywhere. But that's not all—this app also reinforces your club’s identity, making it more professional and recognizable.

Key Features:

1. Custom Branding: Reflect your club’s unique identity with custom logos and colors, creating a cohesive and professional appearance.

2. User-Friendly Interface: Navigate effortlessly with a sleek and intuitive design that enhances the user experience.

3. Real-Time Updates: Receive instant notifications for bookings, cancellations, and club news, keeping everyone informed and engaged.

4. Enhanced Communication: Engage your members through push notifications and in-app messages, ensuring they never miss an important update.

The Benefits:

• Streamlined Operations: Simplify administrative tasks, allowing your staff to focus on providing exceptional service.

• Increased Engagement: Keep your members connected and engaged with your club through the convenience of their mobile devices.

• Stronger Club Identity: Boost your club’s visibility and professionalism with a custom-branded app.

USPTA & SportsEdTV Team Up to Promote Racquet Sports Professionals and Sponsorship Sales
Helping USPTA members develop digital strategies to promote their personal brands

SportsEdTV has entered into a three-year relationship with the USPTA, the leading trade association for racquet sports certification and teaching professionals.  This relationship, which kicks off at the September 15-19 USPTA World Racquets Conference 2024 in Palm Springs, will help USPTA members develop digital strategies to promote their personal brands, more effectively showcase their talents and utilize the SportsEdTV digital platform to enhance their business and empower them for greater career success. Additionally, SportsEdTV will assist the USPTA by increasing the awareness of the association through additional sponsorship relationships and exposure.

See the entire press release here.

USPTA
SportsEdTV

How 2K Sports brought its tennis video game back to life
From Sports Business Journal

After sitting dormant since 2011, the revival of 2K Sports’ TopSpin tennis sim game was a Herculean effort. Remi Ercolani, a game director for 2K’s Hangar 13 game development division, broke down how TopSpin was resuscitated -- technically, at least -- to appeal to the gaming community of 2024.

“The first step is to look at the players we have in our roster and to identify which ones have a truly unique or recognizable style for either their serve, forehand, backhand or return idle, and to capture video references of each,” Ercolani said. “Then, we create what we call a ‘shot list’ for motion capture, which is a list of individual animations we want to capture.”

For forehands and backhands, Ercolani said each movement has nine individual animations that display based on factors such as the ball’s direction, height and speed -- before the player hits it. Then, once Hangar 13 finalized all the shots they wanted to capture, designers moved on to the mocap (motion capture) stage.

Read the entire article here.

USTA invests in an electronic line-calling system to be used in
recreational tennis
From a USTA press release.

The USTA's new strategic investment initiative, USTA Ventures, has invested in PlayReplay, a tennis technology company featuring an electronic line-calling (ELC) system set to increase access to accurate, user-friendly ELC for junior, adult and recreational play nationwide. The PlayReplay ELC system utilizes a minimally intrusive camera solution that provides a level of accuracy and precision not previously seen in replay technology priced for recreational competition. Through the PlayReplay app, or a touchscreen that can be installed courtside, players can immediately access necessary player and ball tracking data, “challenge” a line call and receive a visual representation of where the ball landed and an in/out ruling.

This is the first investment made by the USTA’s national strategic investment committee through USTA Ventures. Formed last year, the committee’s focus is on acquiring potential equity stakes in technologies and other companies that will help advance the USTA’s mission.

Read the entire press release here.

ATP approves in-competition wearables to enhance player performance & recovery
The initiative ushers in a new era of innovative data-led performance analytics

The ATP has announced the approval of in-competition wearable devices for players across the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour, starting from 15 July. The initiative ushers in a new era of innovative data-led performance analytics and injury prevention in tennis.

Wearable devices will generate cutting-edge insights for players from physical metrics such as heart rate and high-intensity load data, enhancing their analysis of matches and training sessions. ATP has approved both STATSports and Catapult devices and will centralize all data into ATP Tennis IQ – Wearables, an intuitive new dashboard for players.
Read more here.

Wimbledon and IBM launch Catch Me Up
Catch Me Up tool allows deeper fan relationships for Wimbledon buffs

IBM and The All England Lawn Tennis Club today announced a new feature for the Wimbledon digital experience that will leverage match data with generative AI from IBM's AI and data platform, watsonx, to keep fans updated on the world's leading players as they advance through The Championships.

The new 'Catch Me Up' feature displays pre and post-match player cards with AI-generated player stories and analysis via wimbledon.com and the Wimbledon 2024 App. Player cards will be personalised based on user preferences and data such as their location and myWimbledon profile, starting with their favourite players. Pre-match content will include analysis of recent performance and likelihood to win predictions, and post-match it will include key statistics and highlights. The feature will also create longer-form daily summaries of play.
Read more here.