Why the Australian Open is using Wii-like animations of top tennis players

MELBOURNE, Australia — Tennis Australia has transformed the world’s best tennis players into animated versions of themselves in an ingenious effort to bypass broadcasting restrictions at this year’s Australian Open.

Throughout the tournament, the Australian Open YouTube account has been streaming several matches in full, with the players displayed as Nintendo Wii-like cartoon avatars mimicking their every move. Their rackets, the court and balls are also displayed as animated versions.

The project, labeled AO Animated, works by having sensors on the actual courts at Melbourne Park feeding data into a system that then produces digital reproductions of the live match, with only a two-minute delay. These versions of the matches are even synced to feature live commentary, crowd noise and chair umpire calls, as well as subtle — and not so subtle — player quirks and reactions.

By displaying the matches in this video game-like format, it means there is no breach of strict broadcasting rights. Tennis Australia is free to share them on its own social media channels, despite having sold lucrative exclusive broadcast rights to various partners around the world (including ESPN).

The AI technology debuted at the Australian Open a year ago, though the technology was far less life-like than it is now. According to The Guardian, matches are receiving four times more viewers this year than last. The first-round match between Daniil Medvedev and Kasidit Samrej, during which Medvedev notoriously smashed his racket on the net, has more than 109,000 views as of Wednesday evening.

The technology is not dissimilar to what was used when Disney+ broadcast this season’s NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals as “The Simpsons” on “Monday Night Football.”