Wimbledon 2025 Introduces AI-Powered Fan Engagement Features

Wimbledon 2025 is set to be the smartest Championships yet, and it might help me fall in love with tennis again

IBM and AELTC are using AI to push fan engagement even further at Wimbledon 2025 This year's Wimbledon tennis championships is set to be the most interactive and exhaustive for sports fans thanks to a major AI upgrade. The iconic tournament, long a mainstay of the British summer, is introducing a range of AI-powered upgrades and services for fans through its Wimbledon.com website and app. This includes an all-new feature allowing fans to explore information about certain matches in almost real-time, and an upgraded tool looking to predict the possible winners of every match. IBM has now been the technology partner for the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), tournament organizers for Wimbledon, for 36 years, with 2025 marking another significant milestone for the pair. Following in the footsteps of recent AI-powered innovations such as 2024's Catch Me Up, which utilized Watsonx's generative AI to create player-based updates in the form of "cards" available on the Wimbledon.com website or mobile app, and AI commentary introduced in 2023, the two organizations hope these new advances will offer fans old and new greater insights into the tournament. "The way sports are being consumed is ever-evolving," Kevin Farrar, Head of Sport Partnerships at IBM UK, told a pre-tournament briefing attended by TechRadar Pro, "our challenge is to see how we tap into that". New for 2025 is Match Chat - a new conversational interface which lets fans explore info about the match in nearly real-time. The tool is built with technologies on watsonx Orchestrate, taking AI agents and large language models (LLMs), such as IBM Granite, which have been trained on the Wimbledon editorial style and language of tennis - so "Gentlemen's" and "Ladies'" singles, rather than Men's/Women's. Fans will be able to use a number of pre-written prompts, or ask their own questions (such as, 'who has served the most aces in the match?', or 'who is performing better in the match?'), with replies delivered almost immediately. IBM says the Match Chat training also ensures the tool stays focused on the tennis - users will only be able to ask it questions about matches at the tournament, so there's hopefully no chance it will get distracted if you ask it where the tastiest strawberries are. "Whenever we're designing something new, it always starts with the fan first...we think this is going to be a really engaging experience that addresses a number of different kinds of fans," noted Chris Clements, Digital Products Lead at the AELTC. "At its heart, sport is a human thing, it's an emotional thing - we're using AI to be able to tell these stories to be told more effectively." First introduced in 2024, the "Likelihood to Win" tool is also getting an AI boost, and will now alter its projected win percentage even throughout a single game, generating projections from AI-powered analysis of player statistics, expert opinion and match momentum. The 2025 Wimbledon Championships run from June 30 - July 13, 2025, with the app available to download on Android and iOS now, as well as across the Wimbledon.com website.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM Launch New AI Features for Real-Time Wimbledon Fan Engagement

LONDON, June 17, 2025 /CNW/ -- The All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new and enhanced AI-powered digital experiences coming to The Championships, Wimbledon 2025. Making its debut is 'Match Chat', an interactive AI assistant that can answer fans' questions during live singles matches. The 'Likelihood to Win' tool is also being enhanced, offering fans a projected win percentage that can change throughout each game. The solutions, which leverage match data and generative AI on watsonx, are the latest in the and mission to provide tennis fans with innovative and unique ways to engage across The Championship fortnight. Match Chat is available on the Wimbledon App and on wimbledon.com. Fans can engage with the assistant using either pre-written prompts or their own questions (for example; 'who has converted more break points in the match?', or 'who is performing better in the match?'). Immediate responses and match analysis - delivered by AI - are provided, offering insights and enriching the fans' experience. Match Chat is built with technologies on watsonx Orchestrate including a collection of AI agents and large language models (LLMs), such as IBM Granite, that are trained on the editorial style and the language of tennis. It will also be available post-match in IBM Slamtracker for select high profile match-ups. The enhanced Likelihood to Win tool generates projections from a comprehensive, AI-powered analysis of player statistics, expert opinion and match momentum. The tool leverages technologies including Red Hat Openshift, which allows developers to build, deploy, and scale applications quickly and efficiently across multiple environments. Together, these features aim to help create complimentary experiences to further engage new and existing tennis fans globally. They also offer fans more ways to interact with all the exciting action from the ladies' and gentlemen's singles matches - as it unfolds. Fans can access these, and other features, via the IBM Slamtracker which is available on the Wimbledon App and on wimbledon.com. , Marketing & Commercial Director at the , said: "We are committed to providing fans with the best possible experience, whether they interact with us through TV, radio, digitally or within the grounds. The innovations we have introduced in recent years, driven by generative AI, in conjunction with , allow us to provide more exciting ways for our hundreds of millions of fans around the world to interact with The Championships. This year's new features will encourage the audience to immerse themselves and engage with all the match action like never before." , Senior Vice President of , said: "Solutions like Match Chat and Likelihood to Win show how AI on watsonx can deliver tennis fans the compelling real-time insight and match engagement they want around this historic tournament and its players. Our 35-year partnership with the is another example of how helps clients unlock and achieve lasting value from their unique data using AI." About is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalise on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. About The Championships, , is the oldest of the four tennis Grand Slams and the only one played on grass. Managed by and staged on the Club's Grounds, has evolved from its origins as a private members' croquet club in 1868, to one of the world's biggest annual sporting events and one of the most well-respected brands in sport. Visit www.wimbledon.com and follow @wimbledon on all major social media platforms.