Explained: Why Australian Open is using Nintendo Wii Tennis cartoon avatars on YouTube streams?

The Australian Open that got underway on 12 January is witnessing something unique this year. The 113th edition of the first Grand Slam of the year, which happens to be the 57th in the ‘Open Era’, is being live streamed on the Tennis Australia’s official YouTube channel. But instead of actual footage from Melbourne Park, the live stream features animated versions of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff among others.

The animated avatars of the competitors give viewers the impression they’re watching a live stream of someone playing Wii Sports on gaming console Nintendo Wii rather than a Grand Slam.

But why is it so? Here’s what we know so far:

Why Tennis Australia is using animated avatars for the 2025 Australian Open

The reason behind Tennis Australia’s decision to use animations for their live telecasts is simple – they do not have the rights for the matches and have opted for this solution in order to bypass strict broadcasting restrictions.

The Australian Open doesn’t have full
broadcast rights for all matches.

So, its YouTube livestream uses AI to generate Nintendo Wii Tennis cartoon avatars that mimics the action on a 2-minute delay.

As a result, this animated clip of Daniel Medvedev smashing his tennis racket… pic.twitter.com/VGVlteA4Rx

— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) January 16, 2025

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Tennis Australia sold exclusive broadcast rights to various TV companies around the world, as a result of which it cannot stream these games live, but are free to use the actual players for their highlights package as well as in other clips.

How the ingenious move was made possible

The landmark move by Tennis Australia was made possible by having sensors at the courts in Melbourne Park which then registers the movements of the players as well as their racquets and the ball. The data registered by those sensors is then fed into a system that produces digital reproductions of the live match, albeit with a two-minute delay. What’s more, the crowd noise as well as commentary on the official broadcast is also synced in order to ensure the viewer gets the impression of a live broadcast, even if in a video game-like format.

“By integrating skeletal tracking data with animated characters, this mixed-reality experience is designed to captivate a new generation of tennis fans, making the sport more accessible and engaging, particularly for kids and families,” said Tennis Australia Chief Content Officer Darren Pearce said in a statement.

According to the organisers, the ‘Animated Feeds’ feature was developed by AO Labs, the research and development arm of Tennis Australia’s pipeline.

Incidentally, the Australian Open isn’t the first tournament or league to make use of animated players for live broadcasts – Disney+ had telecast the National Football league (NFL) game between Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals using the animation style of popular sitcom ‘The Simpsons’ in October.