Engaging Wimbledon fans in real time with IBM watsonx

Some guests come for the strawberries and cream and Pimm’s, the signature Wimbledon cocktail dressed with strawberries, cucumber and mint. Others come hoping to spot Kate, Princess of Wales, in the Royal Box where influential people from sport and society are invited to watch some of the world’s best tennis matches. Still others—last year, approximately 670 million across all channels—tune in from across the globe to catch the sports drama unfolding over the first two weeks of July on the springy grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC or “All England Club”) in SW19, southwest London.

Whether digitally or in person, Wimbledon has been working with IBM to engage existing fans and attract new ones for over thirty years. This year, two new AI-solutions supported by IBM’s watsonx will “allow fans to immerse and engage with matches in a way they have never done before,” according to Chris Clements, Digital Products Lead at the All England Club, in this year’s press release.

Match Chat, a new interactive AI assistant, will answer fans’ real-time questions during live singles matches and post-match coverage. Fans can use pre-written prompts such as “What are the key factors in this match”? or they can come up with their own questions using natural language. “Some fans are interested in knowing who is more likely to win, who has served more aces during the match, or learning about the rich traditions of Wimbledon,” says Tyler Sidell, IBM’s Technical Program Director for Sports and Entertainment Partnerships at IBM.

The second solution, Live Likelihood to Win, uses AI projections to determine which player is likely to triumph based on moment-to-moment data. While an earlier version of this solution projected the winner heading into the match based on a given player’s season and recent performance leading up to The Championships, the newly expanded solution is “near real-time,” says Sidell, meaning it will update throughout a singles match after each point. Top players understand that past results don't ensure future victories. What truly matters is your current form and how you’re performing right now. When elite talent faces off, mental resilience and momentum can quickly change the course—comebacks are always possible, and match points can disappear in a flash. Live Likelihood to Win will factor in all these twists and turns, updating as the match proceeds, so “you can see how the momentum is shifting from player to player in a given match,” says Sidell.

These new fan features are part of The All England Club’s broader goals to ensure an engaging fan experience on the Wimbledon site and app, and more broadly, to grow the tennis community worldwide. From social sites to search engines, fans have a plethora of options for staying updated on matches these days.

“What draws fans to Wimbledon’s digital platforms?” asks Sidell. “It’s our interactive, engaging content—it sparks curiosity and keeps them coming back. It’s content that captivates, and in doing so, the Wimbledon App becomes a true ambassador for the brand.”

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 Wimbledon editorial style and language of tennis. “We work very closely with the team to ensure the way the assistant generates a response is in the Wimbledon tone, voice and brand,” says Sidell. The solution is also monitored by the AELTC for accuracy and will be available in IBM SlamTracker for post-match analysis.

Both IBM and the All England Club are excited to see how fans use this year’s new solutions at the 138^th edition of the Wimbledon Championships, which kicks off on the 30^th of June.