Advantage Axis: Sports analytics solution serves up fair play at club-level tennis

In the world of tennis, accuracy and skill are the key components that must be brought together to enable a player to win. With coaching taking place at club level all over the world, the next generation of star players will be waiting in the wings for their moment in the spotlight. Yet, guaranteeing a fair match can be a challenge, particularly if ascertaining whether a ball is ‘in’ or ‘out’ is left up to human interpretation alone. At club level, players must commonly rely on their opponent to accurately call the ball with no umpire present.

Eero Kuusi, CTO & Co-founder, Zenniz, explains: “Our video and audio tracking system utilises P-series network video cameras from our partner Axis Communications to accurately track both the ball and the players around a court. This was previously an audio-only system, but we added high-quality video for a more comprehensive overview so that we can be 100% certain of the location of the ball during a match at all times. Audio sensors handle the accuracy down to millimetres, but the addition of video allows us to determine speed and positioning, as well as being able to study player performance in fine detail, viewable on an LED screen.”

Eero continues: “Beyond its capability to facilitate automated line calls, the solution can provide key insights about any game based on real-time video data. This has implications for coaching and training sessions through the use of video to provide unique, tailored analysis about every player and their performance. Together with our customers we’ve noticed that feedback can be more constructive, is more readily accepted and, therefore, more likely to be acted upon by a player when accompanied by video in which they can see themselves in action. Areas for improvement can be more easily identified and analysed.”

When used for training purposes, the Zenniz solution has additional functionality that can be activated via a simple touchscreen interface, such as customisable drills. These predetermined programmes of activity are designed to test a player’s stamina, speed and skill, using video analysis to determine the level at which a player is operating, ensuring they maintain the required degree of match fitness, or helping them reach that next level of ability. For Zenniz, the solution is helping to revolutionise the sport and giving new young players confidence in their abilities. For Axis it demonstrates the potential afforded by network cameras to digitally transform an ever-more-varied range of industries and sectors.

Such is the positive praise for the solution that it has now been approved by the Finnish Tennis Federation for higher level use. Currently the solution is tailored to hard courts, primarily indoors, but a move towards introducing an outdoor version that is suitable for grass courts will open up the Zenniz solution to new markets. It is currently being used extensively across courts in Sweden, the US and Finland, with some initial interest from the UK, Lithuania and Poland. A pilot scheme is active at the University of Yale in Connecticut, and a significant roll-out of the solution is expected across the U.S. college tennis market in the near future.