- Partnership dates back more than 30 years
- AI has been major focus of partnership
- Mobile app use up 19% during 2025 Championships
Wimbledon has extended its official artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and digital transformation partnership with IBM, prolonging one of the most successful technology partnerships in sport.
The tech giant first teamed up with the All England Club (AELTC) in 1990. In 1995 they launched an official website and the arrangement now encompasses a wide a range of tools and infrastructure designed to support the tennis Grand Slam’s operations, data gathering and fan engagement activities.
This latest ‘multi-year’ renewal will amplify these efforts and extend the relationship well into a fourth decade.
AI has been a particular focus of the two’s efforts in recent years, with intelligent technologies used to automatically clip and package highlights packages for multiple digital platforms, create data-driven insights for fans, and personalise content.
Usama Al-Qassab, marketing and commercial director at the AELTC, told SportsPro AI last year that Wimbledon’s expanded use of AI helped drive mobile app usage by 19 per cent during the 2025 Championships, with the tournament recording a total 19.1 billion engagements across its digital, social and broadcast channels.
“We are delighted to have agreed a multi-year extension to our long-standing partnership with IBM,” said Al-Qassab. “For 35 years, IBM and the All England Club have embraced innovation and created world-leading digital experiences to bring our fans closer to The Championships. As we look to attract the next generation of Wimbledon fans from around the world, the AI-powered capabilities of IBM will be key to ensuring our future digital experiences are relevant, personalised and engaging.”
For IBM, the partnership has provided a high-profile use case and proving ground for its infrastructure, software and intelligent capabilities which are used across multiple industries. Other partners in the sports industry include the US Open and the Masters golf major.
“Our partnership with Wimbledon represents the very best of what a long-term, strategic collaboration can be. It’s rooted in shared values, trust built over time, and a joint commitment to constant innovation,” Jonathan Adashek, SVP, marketing and communications, IBM told SportsPro.
“We’ve set the bar for how sports properties can harness technology to modernise their operations, become more productive and create new loyalties that span generations of fans – all while staying true to their brand heritage.
“The same AI and data platforms we use to enhance the fan experience at Wimbledon are the ones we put into the hands of our clients in industries all across the globe. The partnership becomes a live showcase of how we are applying AI where it meaningfully improves how people experience the event.”
SportsPro says…
Wimbledon’s digital strategy has two clear goals. The first is to use technology to ensure the tournament runs as smoothly as possible, and the second is to engage fans in attendance in SW19 and those watching around the world.
Not everything has gone to plan, as demonstrated by the human error-related mishaps with electronic line calling (ELC) this summer, being evidence of that. But in general, most of its innovation has been successful.
For the past three decades, its partnership with IBM has been crucial to this mission – introducing many cutting-edge technologies and establishing best practices for the industry in the process.
Indeed, the Grand Slam claims its smartphone app was the first to include such detailed live sports data when it launched in 2009 and it was using ‘cognitive computing’ long before AI became the sports technology term de jour.
In many ways, it has been the prototype for the modern sports technology partnership, prioritising genuine technical need over gimmickry and marketing considerations – even if the commercial value of this deal is significant to IBM given the popularity of Wimbledon.
This extension continues one of the most celebrated partnerships in the industry, providing prestige to both parties, and providing plenty of reference cases for the industry to benefit from.
Credit: https://www.sportspro.com/news/technology/wimbledon-ibm-partnership-ai-cloud-tech-extension-january-2026/
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