
Within metaverse-powered experiences, users are able to express themselves through a variety of personalization options for their digital avatars. And though not everyone’s metaverse experience ends up being the same, having a memorable way to customize, share, and simply exist within the metaverse itself is a clear-cut win.
Game, set and match, you might say.
(Given the title of this article, tennis punnery was inevitable.)
Enter the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) and Infosys. The former, founded in 1986, preserves and promotes the history of tennis and celebrates its many champions, thereby serving as a vital partner in the global growth of the sport. The latter, born from a capital of $250 in 1981, has grown to become the size of $18.21 billion over the last forty years and was recognized just this year as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere. With a mission to create and amplify opportunities in next-gen digital services and consulting for individuals, businesses and whole communities, one of the flagship partnerships that Infosys has forged is with the tennis global community. (ATP, Roland-Garros, even the Australian Open itself.) The Infosys Tennis Platform has quite a far reach.
So, Infosys wanted to build on that even further with the ITHF. Now, as one of the ITHF’s Official Digital Innovation Partners, Infosys will be flexing its huge portfolio of services in order to support the ITHF’s tennis preservation efforts.
This is manifesting in the form of the new Metaverse Museum for the ITHF.
Here’s how Infosys is enhancing ITHF experiences and digitally preserving the heritage of tennis:
- The Metaverse Museum – designed to be deeply immersive – is bringing the full ITHF collection of stories to life via metaverse technology.
- Fans can view larger-than-life holographic statues of tennis Hall of Famers and learn on the spot about their careers and stats via interactive storytelling and even trivia. Featured Hall of Famers include the likes of Martina Navratilova, Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and 2023 inductee Esther Vergeer, among many others.
- Fans can discover iconic items from tennis history in the ITHF’s collection, only virtualized; this includes an original pair of Stan Smith Adidas sneakers, a racquet used by Stefanie Graf during her Golden Slam in 1988, and a dress worn by none other than Serena Williams herself at the 2018 US Open.
- A virtual ITHF shop is available, for those interested in more customization options.
- Additional VR-enabled experiences are also currently in development.
"Today, carefully crafted digital infrastructure has been taking center stage, enhancing our understandings of and interactions with experiences," said Sumit Virmani, Infosys EVP and Global Chief Marketing Officer. "Through this Metaverse, Infosys and the ITHF are bridging physical and digital worlds to redefine the fan experience and bring fans closer to their favorite historical moments. It has created a strong digital foundation for the ITHF to experiment and engage new tennis enthusiasts with the history and heritage of the sport on platforms accessible to the millions of fans around the world."
"Infosys and the ITHF have embarked on a truly transformational process to take the physical museum into a 3D digital environment," said Dan Faber, CEO of the ITHF. "This cutting-edge experience takes history beyond borders and provides an immersive and ‘meta’ avenue for fans of all ages to be inspired by legends' careers, accomplishments and stories."
Learn more about what Infosys and the ITHF have made available here.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez