Andy Murray Shares How AI and Technology are Revolutionizing Tennis and His Comeback Chances

A DECADE on from winning his second men’s singles trophy at Wimbledon, Andy Murray was set to return to Centre Court to make his coaching debut at the tournament.

However, despite his best efforts since joining ‘s team for the grass-court season, injury forced the just 24 hours before his first-round match.

Andy Murray wins the Wimbledon Championships for a second time in 2016 Credit: Getty He joined the Princess of Wales at Wimbledon this week as a spectator Credit: Paul Edwards

Regardless of the disappointment, 39-year-old was in good spirits as he spent time at his old stomping ground this week – rubbing shoulders with the Princess of Wales and delivering his thoughts on how technology has transformed tennis at an event with .

At this year’s Championships, IBM is giving tennis fans real-time AI projections that reveal who is winning – and why.

The feature, “Likelihood to Win”, calculates a player’s probability of victory during Grand Slam tennis tournaments by combining scoring data, match statistics, and expert analysis into continuously evolving win probabilities for every singles match.

Andy told a crowd: “As a fan, I feel like you get a greater understanding of the sport and the strategies that some players might use.

“It’s interesting for fans to look at and understand who the favourite is. And you can then ask questions.

“You can get so much information now that I believe that it makes the sport more interesting than just having to listen to one pundit on the TV, in my opinion.”

IBM has designed, developed and delivered the award-winning digital experience of The Championships for 35 years.

This year, technology used on the reimagined app and website not only gives fans the upper-hand, but it can help players too – something that Andy missed out on before retiring in 2024.

Discussing how new technology is impacting the game, Andy said: “I do some coaching now, and I love to look at the stats.

“As a player, it would have been very helpful when playing.

Andy spoke at an IBM event in Wimbledon this week Credit: The Sun The tennis legend with The Sun’s Amanda Devlin at Wimbledon Credit: The Sun

“The amount of points won in a match, particularly between the top players, the difference is usually anywhere from 3 to 5 per cent towards the winning player.

“Understanding important moments, like when players are under pressure, where do they like to serve? What are their preferred serving patterns and things like that. It can be really helpful if you get a gauge on that.”

He added: “One of the hard things with tennis is that you can prepare as much as you want with using the statistics and the, you know, the analytics, but I can’t control what you’re going to do on that day, because a lot of the players are now using these tools.

“So, they’re going on the court with a greater understanding of what they need to do against you and some of the players play the same way regardless of the opponent, but some will use the analytics and the data to make changes.

“You also need to be able, when you’re on the court in the matches, to adjust to what’s happening in front of you.

“I love using the data and the analytics, but also, as a player, you need to be able to make adjustments when you’re on the court in the middle of the match.”

Andy, who coached former rival at last year’s , also reflected on tennis’s injury crisis – with and among the big stars to be ruled out of this year’s Wimbledon.

having fought off nosebleeds to win an epic five-set clash and earn £300,000 prize.

Serving up his reasoning behind the number of tennis stars dropping out of competitions through injury, Andy said: “It is an interesting one because I actually don’t think that the data suggests there’s more injuries now than there were ten years ago.

“But there does seem to be more upper limb injuries than there was a while ago.

“My opinion is that that’s due to a change in the racket technology and the strings that players are using.

“Players have gone to much lighter rackets than they used to use before, with quite stiff strings in the racket.

“So, a lot of the force is going through the arm, whereas before, players used much more forgiving strings and heavier rackets, and more of the force went through the rackets.

“I feel like that’s something that maybe some of the players should look at, playing with slightly different equipment.

“But because the game has got quicker and faster, that is why players feel like they need a lighter racket, when the ball’s coming quickly to you, to get that racket moving fast.”

Injury has also blighted ‘ singles comeback trail.

The 44-year-old American superstar lost in three sets in round one on Tuesday night to Australian Maya Joint, who is 24 years her junior.

Serena Williams made a Wimbledon comeback this year Credit: AP Andy pictured raising the winner’s trophy after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles final in 2013 Credit: AFP

It later emerged, she tweaked her knee and bravely played on in a contest that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.

She was from an iconic Williams’ doubles match with elder sister Venus, 46, after the 23-time Grand Slam failed to recover in time.

Asked whether Andy planned on making a surprise comeback like Serena, Andy told The Sun: “As much as I would love to keep playing or would have loved to have kept playing, I couldn’t.

“My body was in bits.

“Now I play golf and that’s a lot easier on the body, so…

“No comebacks for me, unfortunately.”

The two-time Wimbledon went on to reflect on his experience at the tournament before winning gold.

“It was tough. I felt a huge amount of pressure,” Andy admitted.

“Year on year I was getting a bit closer, but I still hadn’t won, and that pressure was kind of building and building every year to the point where I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get over the line, particularly with the players that I was competing against.

“There weren’t many chances between Federer, Djokovic and Nadal and I didn’t know if it was ever going to come, but, thankfully, in 2013, I managed to get over the line.”

“At times I definitely wish I wasn’t playing at the same time as those three.

“I believe I would have won more if there was one less of them,” he laughed.

“But I also had the opportunity to play in one of the best – well, I’m probably biased, obviously – but I think it’s the best period for men’s tennis to have three players like that who won twenty-plus Grand Slams.

“I’m not sure we’ll see that again in my lifetime.

“So I was fortunate to get to play against Djokovic on Center Court, Nadal at Roland Garros, and, you know, Federer in Olympic Games. I didn’t always get the result I would have liked, but I have incredible experiences and memories from my career, and I’m proud of everything I put into it, and what I managed to achieve in that time.”