MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open is embracing a modern trend in sports consumption by offering animated re-creations of live tennis matches. This year's tournament, which runs until January 26, is pioneering an innovative streaming service that provides real-time animated feeds on its YouTube channel, simulating the action happening in the tournament's primary stadiums.
Players are depicted through animated characters that bear some resemblance to video game avatars rather than realistic representations of actual athletes like Coco Gauff or Novak Djokovic. The graphics attempt to reflect the players’ outfits and accessories accurately while portraying the matches with a slight delay of about one point.
“Sometimes I think it’s a very accurate depiction of the actual player that’s playing. So it’s weird. It’s funny and weird,” commented Leylah Fernandez, a finalist at the 2021 U.S. Open, who was intrigued by the animated format. She expressed curiosity about watching herself in this whimsical digital landscape.
Tennis Australia has designed custom “skins” for players, chair umpires, and ball persons to enhance this unique viewing experience. Machar Reid, Tennis Australia’s director of innovation, stated, “The wonderful part of it is it’s the players’ actual movement. It’s the actual trajectory of the ball. We’re taking the real into the unreal. That’s part of the magic.”
Carlos Alcaraz, a celebrated four-time Grand Slam champion at 21, referred to the animated matches as “a good alternative,” reflecting the ongoing digital evolution in sports.
Players like Fernandez frequently search YouTube for previous match footage to prepare strategically for opponents. While looking for a specific match, she stumbled upon the animated replays, finding the representation humorously engaging. “So I click on it and think, ‘This is it! Finally! I have one,’” she recalled, only to find it was an animated character instead.
Jiri Lehecka, the 24th seed in Australia, was also caught off guard when he saw an animated “replay” of Daniil Medvedev humorously hitting a camera with his racket during a match. “I had no idea that something like that exists, so for me, it was quite funny to see that,” Lehecka expressed, showing his interest in possibly seeing himself portrayed in a similar fashion as he continues his journey in the tournament.
This engaging initiative by Tennis Australia first emerged during the previous year's tournament, aiming to attract a younger audience and avid gamers to the sport. The NFL, NBA, and NHL have also tested similar animated broadcast approaches, underscoring a growing trend in sports viewership.
Reid noted that the current year has generated significant interest in the animated streams, with over 950,000 views in the initial four days, a stark increase from the 140,000 views in the same timeframe in 2024. “It’s part of our DNA to innovate and try to challenge the status quo or, in this instance, provide experiences to different groups of fans that are more personalized for them to consume,” Reid elaborated on the project's goals, acknowledging that the animation approach might not appeal to every fan.
While the future of sports viewing could evolve further into animated formats, Reid commented, “Not in my lifetime and not in yours, I don’t think. But who knows? The world of sport and entertainment is moving so, so quickly.” He remains optimistic that the connection with live athletes performing in real-time will always be essential.
