Court 19: The Wimbledon Tech Hub Powered by AI from IBM

The historical grounds at Wimbledon attract roughly half a million fans each year, with hundreds of millions of global audience watching digitally.

With the 2026 tournament starting today, IBM and the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) have revealed how AI-powered technology is transforming fan engagement at Wimbledon whilst preserving the tournament's 150-year heritage and traditions.

The AELTC has partnered with IBM to deploy updates to its website and mobile application ahead of this year's championships.

The partnership between the two organisations spans 39 years, making it one of the longest-running technology collaborations in professional sport.

The updates form part of a five-year digital development roadmap now in its second year.

According to AELTC and IBM representatives, the changes demonstrate how generative AI can integrate with traditional sporting events while respecting their unique character and heritage.

Understanding the digital audience

Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing and Communications Director at the AELTC, explains the club's approach to fan engagement across multiple platforms.

"Wimbledon has been around for a long time... we want to be at the pinnacle of sport and that means looking after everyone that takes part," he says. 

To do so requires deep understanding of the very diverse audience of the sport.

"[We] need to understand where they are, what they do, how they interact… our ambition is to engage more people, more often and in different ways," Usama continues. 

The AELTC uses this data to develop features for both expert tennis followers and casual viewers.

According to Usama, the general sports fan who watches only one tennis match per year will often choose Wimbledon.

Year-round technology collaboration

Kameryn Stanhouse, Vice President of Global Sports and Entertainment Partnerships at IBM, refers to the behind-the-scenes technology hub at Wimbledon as "Court 19".

"We work with them [the AELTC] the same way we work with any customer," she says. "What makes the partnership so special is it’s not an off/on [situation]… we have a team of 50 consulting people that are working on the Championships year round.

"Many of my team you can find in the Wimbledon offices."

The partnership allows Wimbledon to maintain its identity while adopting new technology, as the tournament gears up to celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.

"What makes us uniquely paired is we both have valued history but are also looking forward," Kameryn adds.

Usama notes that the club views heritage and modernisation as compatible objectives.

"We don't see tradition and innovation as butting against each other," he goes on. "We've always innovated here at Wimbledon but we do it in a cautious manner."

Previous examples include the retractable roofs installed on Centre Court and No. 1 Court.

"We are not a technology company," says Usama. "We are brilliant aggregators, we understand our horticulture, we look after players and have brilliant player facilities, but when we get to partner with IBM, we can tap into their daily knowledge... by partnering with the right people, we don't have to be the experts."

Watsonx platform powers features

The newly-launched website and app release includes tools built on IBM's watsonx platform.

The Enhanced Live Likelihood to Win model represents one of the featured additions, analysing news events to generate pre-match projections. According to Usama, the AI model "has been accurate for the last three years for the men's singles final".

The percentages update dynamically as matches progress, with the platform displaying explanations for why the AI produces specific predictions.

A Key Moments tool provides analysis of momentum changes during matches. 

The Enhanced Match Chat feature allows users to enter natural language queries such as "What has happened in the match so far?" or request pronunciation guidance for player names. The chat feature now retrieves live videos and photographs for context. According to Usama, this functionality "caters seamlessly to the tennis expert or the novice, and keeps them within the app".

IBM Consulting used an AI development accelerator called IBM Bob to rebuild Wimbledon's digital infrastructure that serves fans, media and players.

Wimbledon needed to migrate more than 15,000 digital assets, including articles, videos and photographs, along with associated metadata relationships. IBM Bob analysed the assets and built a knowledge graph.

Fred Baker, Sports Industry Leader EMEA and IBM Consulting Associate Partner, explains: "Effectively 10 years' worth of development was possible with a team of 50 developers and digital workers."

However, in a press briefing, it was explained that human control remains central to the technology implementation.

"Everything we do with the club is human-led," Fred says. "As the people who build and run the solution, we've curated it to automate where we want it to but also allow the human to be in the loop for when we want it to."

Tennis commentator Gigi Salmon noted that Wimbledon's reputation depends on tradition, players and legacy.

She said the target is to "keep Wimbledon at the pinnacle of sport, and commentary is a huge part of that... to check on confidence of data and answers. When information reaches the fan in real-time, it has to be accurate."

The AELTC recorded a 16% year-on-year increase in digital engagement in 2025. According to Usama, the club continues to see double-digit annual growth and has reached more than 18bn total engagements.

"We've got to thank the players first and foremost, but it [IBM tech] is certainly driving much higher levels of engagement, leading people to ask questions and share content with each other," he says.

For Usama, visitor experience at the grounds remains the primary success measure.

"There is nothing like hearing 'please open the gates' – we're really fortunate because Wimbledon has become bucket list," he concludes. "Seeing the smiles on the fans' faces is the most important thing."