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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jack Snape at Melbourne Park

Australian Open avatars helping tennis reach new audience

Tennis Australia Tennis Australia Video Game
A screenshot from the AO Animated version of the Nick Kyrgios v Jacob Fearnley match on Monday.
A screenshot from the AO Animated version of the Nick Kyrgios v Jacob Fearnley match on Monday. Photograph: Australian Open TV

The proposition is compelling: near-live, commentated coverage of the Australian Open, free to anyone across the world via YouTube, enhanced via a stream of comments from a like-minded online community.

Put like that, it’s no surprise a project called AO Animated has taken off at this year’s grand slam tournament at Melbourne Park. The catch? The players, ball and court are all computer-generated.

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