Ultimate Tennis Showdown enhances graphics for 2021-2022 series with Deltatre

Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) has selected Deltatre to deliver data and graphics production for its tournaments in 2021 and 2022.

UTS is an innovative, international tennis league predicated on a new and exciting format and rules. It was first played in 2020 after being organised by tennis coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, and Alex Popyrin, entrepreneur and father of Alexei Popyrin, in response to the disruption of the tennis season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The utilisation of Deltatre’s graphics solution is being used to enhance the storytelling capabilities of UTS, helping to position the new tennis league as a modern, forward-thinking and engaging series, that aims to appeal to a new generation of tennis fans.

Tony Page, president of sport experiences at Deltatre, commented on how his company stepped in to help evolve UTS’ graphics for its second season: “We knew that UTS wanted to position itself as something different in the market; a fresh look at tennis and hopefully, a new way of experiencing the sport for fans at home.

“The Ultimate Tennis Showdown’s innovative format and gamification required us to visualise these elements clearly and concisely for the viewer to follow. With UTS already having a mature graphics package, we worked with their inhouse branding team to develop a refreshed look and feel which would resonate with a new generation of tennis fans. Our collaboration had to fit that remit of course, but naturally, the philosophy that underpins all of our work remains the same. That means putting the fan front and centre of any work we do, as well as prioritising the storytelling element. Of course, that means clarity, speed and execution,” continued Page.

Deltatre has refreshed and deployed a graphics solution, an umpire application and a data model for UTS 2021 events. Deltatre will also have an experienced and passionate team working on site during live events.

Christophe Chatain, UTS broadcast operations manager, UTS, commented on the umpire app: “The umpire app is used by the umpire on the chair to prepare matches and score. We launched an app few weeks ago on the Play Store, called UTS, where you can have most of the functionalities of the umpire app and you can use it to practice your tennis differently (like never before!).”

Page added: “We took the UTS IP and refreshed the graphics package which has been built in Vizrt. In addition, we developed out the umpire tablet to have extra functionality and developed an aggregated data feed from the data logging system for third parties and UTS digital.”

Continued Chatain: “The data model gathers all the information about scoring, statistics, strategy and cards used, serve speed and more, and we expect in the future to aggregate data from [areas such as] motion capture and GPS belts. This data will be provided by Deltatre as a web feed for UTSlive and some of it will be displayed in the TV graphics.”

What differentiates UTS from traditional tennis is its fast-paced 30 minute-long matches, its looser code of conduct allowing the players to express themselves, mid-match interviews, in-game coaching, decisive points that add to the drama and suspense, and UTS cards which necessitate a greater emphasis on strategy.

The first event in 2021 will take place on 24 to 25 May at the Mouratoglou Academy in France. Two Top 10 players have already confirmed their presence: Daniil Medvedev, “The Chessmaster”; and Diego Schwartzman, “El Peque”.

Page concluded: “The benefit of the nature of our work together is we can look ahead to 2022 and make the necessary adjustments to our offering if needed. With the truncated schedule over the last 12 months came the need to ensure we worked closely with UTS to ensure we were ready for the first event.”