More than half a million spectators will pass through the turnstiles at Wimbledon this week, but that represents only a small fraction of the audience following the action via the official app. The app provides point-by-point scores from every match on every court within seconds, and is an all-year-round platform tailored to individual users. Fans can buy tickets, players can book racket re-strings, and All England Club members can reserve courts during the off-season.
Massive Digital Engagement
During the tournament, the app experiences a huge surge in interactions—18 billion last year from 21 million individual users—with even more expected this year. A team of IBM technicians works in what they call a "bunker" in the main admin building to ensure the supply of information meets demand. This year marks year one of a "complete rebuild" of the Wimbledon app and website, according to Fred Baker, sports lead for IBM Consulting EMEA. "We've launched and enhanced key features," Baker says, "like the live 'likelihood to win,' which has an added feature for key moments and explains the turning points, and MatchChat, where fans can ask questions about a match as it's progressing in real time." However, some questions remain off-limits. "If someone asks which player is dating which player, we'll steer the person back on topic," Baker adds.
Birds Interrupt Play
Pigeon problems are largely a thing of the past at Wimbledon, thanks to Rufus the Hawk's deterrent efforts over 18 years. But the decline in pigeons has opened a niche for pied wagtails, several of which have nested in the sliding roof mechanism of No 1 Court. During the first match on Thursday, a busy parent wagtail landed in the tramlines in the middle of a game, briefly interrupting play as 12,000 spectators watched Madison Keys preparing to serve just a few feet away.
Record Serves Fizzle Out
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard set a grand slam record 12 months ago with a 153mph (246km/h) serve, surpassing Taylor Dent's 148mph mark from 2010. He predicted "260 or 270km/h is maybe the next one." However, his record seems safe for now. Thiago Tirante (238km/h) and Ben Shelton (235km/h), the only players to serve faster than 232km/h this week, failed to reach the second round. Mpetshi Perricard managed only 229km/h in his first-round loss to Yannick Hanfmann.
