IBM and Wimbledon Serve Up New Multi-Year Tech Partnership

IBM and the All England Lawn Tennis Club have announced a multi year renewal of their long standing technology partnership, ensuring the continuation of one of the most innovative collaborations in professional sport. The agreement extends a relationship that began over three decades ago and has seen the evolution of Wimbledon’s digital presence from its first website in 1995 to the sophisticated AI driven ecosystem used today. The renewal focuses on leveraging IBM’s watsonx generative AI platform to further personalise the fan experience for a global audience.

The partnership has been instrumental in keeping The Championships at the forefront of digital engagement. In 2025, the collaboration contributed to a 16% year on year increase in fan engagement across all digital platforms, with over 20 million people using the official website and mobile app. Features such as the Live Likelihood to Win and Match Chat, which utilise real time data and AI to provide deeper insights, have become staples of the tournament’s digital offering. The new phase of the partnership will look to build on this success by developing even more immersive features designed to attract younger and more diverse audiences through highly tailored content and interactive tools.

Commercial leaders at the All England Club have highlighted the importance of IBM’s AI capabilities in maintaining Wimbledon’s status as a premier global sporting event. As fan consumption habits shift toward short form, data rich content, the ability to generate automated highlights and real time statistics is critical. IBM’s commitment to providing secure, hybrid cloud infrastructure ensures that these high demand services remain stable during the intense two week tournament window. This renewal underscores a shared vision of using technology not just as a support function, but as a primary driver of brand growth and fan loyalty in an increasingly competitive sports media landscape.