With AI weaving its way through every field, Racquet sports is eager to see what wonders it holds for them. Like any field that AI sweeps in, racquet sports is all set to go through a drastic change, as Agassi Sports Entertainment Corp. (OTC PINK:AASP) announced a groundbreaking collaboration with IBM (NYSE:IBM) to build an AI Powered racquet sports platform to maximize the digital experience and physical as well as emotional satisfaction of players and fans alike.
“The Aggassi Intelligence” Vision
The vision is premised upon democratizing elite class and most of the time out of reach or luxury (if you may) performance analysis for everyone. “The Aggassi Intelligence” platform is said to analyze player performance metrics which includes, serve speed, movement patterns, muscle memorization, shot placement, and match/player statistics. The goal is to develop a training curriculum that caters to every player according to his or her unique needs. In other words, The Aggassi Intelligence, would be a digital coach offering every guidance with precision and customization.
The primary aim is to minimize this divide between an amateur and a professional in terms of training methodologies and availability. As of now, players who cross over the fence and become a professional athlete do get top-tier coaching and technical advice from top-notch professionals. While, the recreational players and aspiring athletes who lack the resources for that are bound to act upon whatever they’re fed from local coaches and unauthorized apps.
The CEO of Agassi Sports Entertainment, Ronald Boreta, dubbed this collaboration a natural progression of the company’s strategy to work with “best in class operators”. Andre Agassi, who renders his name to the platform, marked this collaboration between IBM and Agassi Sports Entertainment Corp. an exceptional pathway to promote health and wellness while uplifting racquet sports’ global reach.
IBM’s Strategy
For IBM, the path is also a natural extension of their ongoing tech ventures in other sports, as in, the successful integration of AI in golf and other athletic spheres.
“Become better versions of themselves through AI tools”
said Jonathan Wright, Managing Partner at IBM Consulting, when commenting on this notable collaboration’s prospect of helping the players.
Also, for IBM, the timing couldn’t be better, as they have been wanting to exhibit tangible AI applications up and above enterprise solutions, and this gives them a concrete showcase of technology’s use case in an everyday consumer’s life.
Industry Context
Racquet sports have historically lagged behind other sports when it comes to digital innovation. In times when cricket has advanced physiological tech-based analytics, basketball has a shot-tracking technology, and golf has precise swing analysis tools; racquet sports have always relied upon conventional fitness trackers and basic stroke counters. But, with this technology it’s Racquet sports’ time to shine.
The racquet sports industry is facing an upward curve these days. With pickleball gaining popularity and padel becoming a global attraction, also, despite facing some participation challenges tennis still happens to have a global and dedicated fanbase who crave for a better engagement. This partnership marks a very important point in facilitating the bulging trend in racquet sports.
The Checkpoint
While it’s good to be optimistic in any light of hope, yet one should never leave track of practicality. Sure, the scheme is thrilling in its principle. Yet, there are some unanswered questions that would require some attention by the ones overseeing the entire process.
1) What are the metrics of collecting the player performance data and measuring its accuracy? Would it be through mobile apps, court sensors, or wearables?
2) Considering a technology that monitors an athlete’s physical movement, could a clumsy or burdensome user experience, leading to excessive advanced hardware needs, limit its adoption in sports?
This step is surely a historic statement that “AI could revolutionize” sports. Sure it has the potential to do so in any field. If well played, this collaboration could become the pioneers who finally brought such traditional, unattended and neglected port into this stream of digital revolution. Lets hope this ambition becomes a reality.
