MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Maybe attending sports events in person is too been-there, done-that in the modern age. So, apparently, is watching the actual action on a TV, laptop or phone.
The Australian Open is getting in on the newest trend in the sports world by re-creating tennis matches in video-game form.
The year’s
first Grand Slam tournament, which runs through Jan. 26, is streaming real-time animated feeds on
its YouTube channel that mimic what’s happening in the three main stadiums.
Players are represented by characters that look like something out of a Wii game — not exactly perfect portrayals of
Coco Gauff or
Novak Djokovic, perhaps, but the graphics do try to show the correct outfit colors or hats and bandanas the athletes are wearing and reflect what is happening in the matches, with about a one-point delay.
“Sometimes I think it’s a very accurate (depiction) of the actual player that’s playing. So it’s weird. It’s funny and weird,” said
2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, who will face Gauff in the third round Friday. “I did not see myself just yet. Maybe I will. Now I’m curious, because I’ve seen different players … and I think I want to watch myself, too.”
Tennis Australia created its own “skins” to represent players, chair umpires and ball persons.
