Wimbledon 'axe AI commentary' after just a year following Annabel Croft rant

Wimbledon have decided to axe their AI commentary following a backlash from former British No 1 Annabel Croft. Tournament chiefs have shelved the feature after just one year after it was labelled as “emotionless”.

Wimbledon is set to get underway on Monday, with Carlos Alcaraz aiming to defend his men’s title and Marketa Vondrousova on the hunt for a second successive ladies’ title.

And tournament directors are still waiting to hear whether seven-time champion Novak Djokovic will feature as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

According to the i newspaper, Wimbledon won’t offer AI commentary to fans this year, with any possible reintroduction of the future depending on how the technology evolves.

Last year the AI-powered audio, which was provided by IBM, was used to add commentary to matches on the outside courts for highlights on the Wimbledon website.

But at the time, Croft was far from happy to see the technology being used as she exclaimed it was “very stiff… emotionless, with no feelings at all.” And she added: “Whoever is taking the decision to put a robot on to commentary and, of course, into the wider context of all jobs in life - this is going to kill humanity.”

Wimbledon have opted to direct their AI resources elsewhere this year and have launched a new feature called Catch Me Up with the aim of enhancing their website coverage.

And discussing the new initiative at a briefing earlier this month, IBM's UK sports partnership lead Kevin Farrar said: “This is about complementing and supplementing and enhancing the human element. It’s a capacity thing. There is a lot of tennis going on that doesn’t get the same level of coverage, so if we can plug that gap, that’s good for the fans.

“The Wimbledon content team are still writing the stories they’ve been writing for every championships, but clearly the top seeds get a lot of that coverage.

“There is a lot of tennis going on, 18 courts over two weeks, and a lot of tennis that does not necessarily get their stories being told. We want to bring that to life, and generative AI is enabling us to do that.”

Meanwhile, digital products lead at the All England Club Chris Clements added: “It’s about driving the interest to the richer content.

“We want people to get insight from ex-players, because there’s a history and a flair there that AI right now wouldn’t be capable of delivering.

“We’re not trying to replace those things, because that’s what makes sports special - the characters, the personalities, the moments. What we’re trying to do is bring people into those moments and add value.”