PlaySight Interactive

PlaySight Interactive is a sports video and analytics technology company, offering its SmartCourt platform across several sports, including tennis and basketball.[1] There are over 900 SmartCourts installed around the world, including with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns and close to 50 NCAA sports programs, including Harvard University, the University of Southern California, and Princeton University.[2][3][4][5] The United States Tennis Association installed PlaySight's SmartCourt technology on 32 courts at its new national campus in Lake Nona, Florida.[6] PlaySight was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies for 2017.[7][8]

Company history

In 2010, PlaySight was founded in Kfar Saba, Israel, using technology with roots in the Israeli military.[9] After years developing weaponry and war simulators for the Israeli army and other defense clients, the three partners looked to apply their skills and knowledge to a new challenge. After one of the partners, Evgeni Khazanov, observed his daughter’s tennis practice, he wondered why a sport with so much money did not have any advanced technology to help players improve their game. It was from that idea that PlaySight was born.

PlaySight has continued to grow through partnerships and investment from players in the tennis industry including Billie Jean King, Ana Ivanovic, Chris Evert, Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic, Tommy Haas, Paul Annacone, and Darren Cahill.[10] Other notable investors include Bill Ackman, Mark Ein, Dr. James Loehr, Gordon Uehling III, and George Mackin. Since the technology was commercialized in 2013,[11] the technology has been adapted for numerous other sports including soccer, martial arts, volleyball, squash, handball, gymnastics, dancing, hockey and wrestling. So far, PlaySight has raised over $20 million and now has offices in Kfar Saba, New Jersey and Los Angeles.[12]

In June 2017, Verizon Ventures and golfer Greg Norman announced an $11 million investment in PlaySight to further SmartCourt expansion in tennis, basketball and other sports and to also introduce the technology to golf.[13]

PlaySight installed its first SmartSchools in 2017 – fully wired high school campuses (including Trinity-Pawling School, Oaks Christian School and Sierra Canyon School with PlaySight across several sports – basketball, ice hockey, soccer and more.[14]

Method of operation

A PlaySight "SmartCourt" is a system of fully automated HD cameras that record, stream and analyze all on-court action.[4][15]For tennis, the technology uses image processing and analytical algorithms to track strokes, ball trajectory, player movement and shot speed and spin.[9] PlaySight's SmartCourt system provides players and coaches instant multi-angle video and detailed statistics through the court side kiosk and on tablets and mobile devices.[6] Their cloud-based platform allows teams to live stream matches and stores all video from SmartCourt sessions for coaches and players to review later from any web enabled device.[1][16] In 2017, PlaySight unveiled its SmartField technology for soccer[17] and also released its SmartTracker technology - an autonomous 4K camera that follows all on-court action automatically.[14]

PlayFair challenge system for tennis

Cheating has become a prominent issue in tennis particularly on junior circuits where players call their own lines.[18][4] PlaySight developed the idea of PlayFair Tournaments that use the line-calling feature of PlaySight's SmartCourt technology to tackle the cheating problem in tennis.[19] These tournaments allow players to challenge close line calls and use the PlaySight court side kiosk to access video replay to confirm or overrule the call.[18] PlayFair Tournaments have been organized at both the junior club and collegiate levels.'

In late 2017, PlaySight and the ITA announced an expansion of the PlayFair initiative, bringing the technology to close to 30 NCAA dual matches for the 2018 season.[20]

Expansion into new sports

PlaySight expanded into basketball, volleyball, soccer, and several other sports in 2017.[17][21]

References

  1. 1 2 "What is PlaySight". PlaySight. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Tennis Technology: Smarten up!". Tennis Industry Magazine. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Leung, Diamond. "PlaySight's SmartCourt expansion into pro basketball begins with Golden State". Sports Illustrated.
  4. 1 2 3 Rossingh, Danielle. "US Open: Is a smart court the secret weapon to beat Serena Williams?". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "PlaySight Live Streaming the 2017 NCAA Championships from the University of Georgia". College Tennis Today. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  6. 1 2 Rothenberg, Ben (2016-08-27). "An Electronic Set of Eyes to Feed Data to Tennis Players and Coaches". NYtimes. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  7. ↑ "Most Innovative Companies". Fast Company. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  8. ↑ https://www.sporttechie.com/playsight-partners-with-recently-retired-ana-ivanovic-as-tech-platform-continues-growth/
  9. 1 2 Daniel, Kaplan. "Smart court maker PlaySight helps push boom in tennis tech". SportsBusiness Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "WTA Grand Slam Singles Champion and Former World #1 Ana Ivanovic Joins the PlaySight Team". Yahoo Finance. PRNewswire.
  11. ↑ Schmidt, Colleen. "High-tech training tool sets new standard on courts at Alberta Tennis Centre". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Rubin, Eliran. "The Israeli Startups Leading the Digital Sports Revolution". Haaretz.
  13. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/daniellerossingh/2017/06/02/greg-norman-verizon-ventures-invest-11m-in-developing-smart-golf-course/#7175a5196a00
  14. 1 2 "PlaySight Goes Back to School". Front Office Sports. 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  15. ↑ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/southern-courier/sport/feel-like-a-star-with-hitech-tennis-court/news-story/98c3281c7cf9a907473c785103ac3dcd
  16. ↑ http://www.verizonventures.com/blog/2017/06/entrepreneur-spotlight-chen-shachar,-founder-ceo-of-playsight/
  17. 1 2 Booton, Jen (2017-10-25). "PlaySight Expands 4K Training Video, Instant Replays To Soccer". SportTechie. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  18. 1 2 Danielle, Rossingh. "Is This The End For The Tennis Club Cheat?". Forbes. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  19. ↑ Pantic, Nina. "PLAYFAIR TOURNAMENTS ARE DETERRING CHEATING, EMPHASIZING SPORTSMANSHIP". Tennis Magazine. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  20. ↑ http://www.itatennis.com/AboutITA/News/Intercollegiate_Tennis_Association_And_PlaySight_Expand_PlayFair_Challenge_System_Pilot_Tests.htm
  21. ↑ https://www.sporttechie.com/playsight-brings-its-smartcourts-to-the-high-school-level/
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