IBM turns 1.2bn data points into US Open fan experiences

IBM and the United States Tennis Association have introduced a new group of artificial-intelligence products across USOpen.org and the official US Open application.

The 2026 deployment includes a personalised Live Updates homepage, an enhanced Match Chat assistant, AI-generated Key Moments and a new Serve Quality metric covering all 254 men’s and women’s singles matches.

Serve Quality uses limb-tracking technology developed with IBM Bob to analyse 21 data points across a player’s body and racquet 50 times per second. The system measures areas including efficiency, accuracy, consistency and ball toss, producing approximately 1.2 billion data points across the tournament before generating a near-real-time score.

Key Moments extends the existing Likelihood to Win product by explaining the turning points and momentum changes affecting each match. Match Chat, powered by watsonx Orchestrate, allows supporters to ask questions in their own words and receive responses using live data, historical information, photographs and video.

IBM and the USTA have worked together since 1992 and now deliver digital products to more than 14 million tennis fans annually. Brian Ryerson, the USTA’s Senior Director of Digital Strategy, oversees the governing body’s fan technology programme, while Jonathan Adashek leads IBM’s involvement as Senior Vice President and Chief Global Affairs Officer.

The rollout shows how a mature sports-technology partnership can connect proprietary tracking data, editorial automation, personalisation and live prediction inside one fan platform rather than treating AI as a standalone sponsorship message.