Ana Ivanovic after announcing her retirement from pro tennis last month on Facebook Live is getting involved in technology with her first post-retirement endeavor.
PlaySight, which has introduced its SmartCourt system for tennis analytics, video and line calling, announced Monday that Ivanovic joined the company as a partner and ambassador.
“I honestly feel that technology is only going to play a larger role in tennis in the future, and I love what PlaySight is doing by connecting the next generation of athletes with high tech expertise,” Ivanovic said in a statement. “I think PlaySight is only going to encourage more kids to pick up a racket and give tennis a try. All levels of tennis players can benefit from training smarter with PlaySight’s analytics, instant video, fair play line calling and gamified tennis training. It’s exciting!”
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
A former world No. 1 player, Ivanovic joins Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic, Tommy Haas, Paul Annacone, and Darren Cahill as players to have partnered with PlaySight.
PlaySight has more than 500 SmartCourts installed all over the world, including at the new USTA National Campus in Orlando and at federations, academies, colleges for NCAA Division I men’s and women’s programs, and clubs. PlaySight is also installed on-site at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and U.S. Open
“We are beyond excited to have a player – and person – of Ana’s caliber joining the PlaySight team,” PlaySight CEO Chen Shachar said in a statement. “Not only did she have an incredible career as a player, but she is so well-respected and admired throughout the sport. Ana will help us to build on our vision of ‘connecting the next generation of athletes’ and is somebody that young tennis players all over the world look up to as a role model.”
PlaySight is a growing company that has also expanded its SmartCourt to basketball, as the Phoenix Suns recently joined the Golden State Warriors as NBA teams to have had the video system installed at their practice facility.
I’m delighted to share that I joined the amazing team of @PlaySight as their new partner and ambassador. I am so excited about this venture!
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) January 9, 2017