The All England Lawn Tennis Club has partnered with IBM to launch a generative AI (genAI) feature which will help fans stay up to date whilst watching tennis at the Wimbledon Championships.

The ‘Catch me Up’ feature will display pre and post-match player cards with AI-generated player stories and analysis using data from Wimbledon's website and app. It will also create daily summaries of play with statistics and highlights.

The service has been built using IBM’s Granite large language model through its watsonx platform. The model has been trained on the Wimbledon editorial style and will be monitored by the club.

The club said the feature will help it scale its content to both new and existing tennis fans globally. Additionally, it will offer curated coverage for multiple matches which are happening simultaneously.

According to a study by IBM, 55 per cent of global tennis fans believe AI will have a positive impact on sports, while a third welcome the potential for real-time updates and personalised content.

The survey also found that around 30 per cent of tennis fans use multiple devices while watching sports events to get more coverage, watch multiple matches at the same time and interact with other fans.

"We are committed to offering fans the highest quality Wimbledon experience, whether it's in person or digitally,” said Chris Clements, digital products lead at the All England Club. “Generative AI allows us to scale our ability to provide different types of content for fans wherever they are in the world in a way that's personalised for them.

“This year's new Catch Me Up feature will make it easier for fans to follow the key storylines as they emerge throughout The Championships."

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