A tennis athlete’s work continues well beyond the court these days with myriad media, business, sponsor and fan requests to manage.
Equally, the importance of creating content for their own social media channels continues to grow with fans eager to build a direct connection with their idols.
As part of AO StartUps, a cohort of Australian tennis athletes will pilot US startup Grandstand - an AI-powered studio that helps athletes engage their fans and create new revenue streams by automatically tracking games and results, gathering relevant media, and generating prompts and highlights that make social media easy for athletes.
“Tennis Australia has been a pioneer in tennis and in sports in creating incredible experiences and support for their athletes,” said Grandstand Founder Sandeep Rajan.
“We're thrilled to partner with Tennis Australia to provide best-in-class social media capabilities for their athletes, allowing them to focus on their sport while unlocking new avenues to distribute incredible tennis content and unlock engagement for tennis fans and brands around the world.”
The onboarding process for athletes is highly efficient with the Grandstand AI algorithm first drawing a profile from publicly available information followed by direct interaction to understand their tastes and content preferences.
“We are excited to work with Grandstand and see the pilot as fantastic opportunity for our athletes to expand their social media presence and connect with fans in a more meaningful way,” said Fraser Wright, TA Player Management & Player Relations Consultant.
The full cohort of AO StartUp companies will be announced in the leadup to AO 2025.