We transformed real-time tracking data from the Nitto ATP Finals into the world's first immersive tennis viewing experience with six AR highlights.

In order to reach new social audiences and bring fans closer to the action, ATP Tour has partnered with Make My Day and us to launch a world-first immersive highlights campaign.

We set out on using real-time tracking data from the Nitto ATP Tennis Finals into fully immersive AR highlights of the game points, which could be enjoyed via six Meta Spark effects.

An incredible challenge that took weeks of preparation, so we could serve up the highlights in great detail in less than 12 hours after each match!

<12 hours production time

The limited time span we had from receiving the data to getting the effect live required a huge amount of preparation and testing from all the parties involved.

With 8 players competing in the Finals, we had to be prepared for every possible match combination.

Realistic AR characters

We used a combination of AI tools to create realistic looking 3D versions of all players based on photographs. The characters were further retouched in a stylistic ‘clay’ look, and optimized manually for best quality and recognizability in a low poly environment.

Custom tracking

As the tracking data included only the player movements and ball position data, we also had to manually add the tennis rackets in a plug-and-play way (instead of having to be adjusted fully for every game point, which would require too much time).

Tracking data from the game itself was processed and cleaned up first by Rezzil, resulting in a fluidly moving character animation and a smooth export into fbx for further integration on our side.

Immersive video highlight created by Make my Day

On the Meta Spark development side, a custom pipeline was built that tracked the ball’s exact interactions with the court surface.

With this, we could dynamically generate vfx touch points for every time the ball touched the court. Additional shader work was done to give the ball trajectory a fittingly futuristic vibe.

Overview of the various player highlights and immersive close-up effects created by Make my Day.