Drone Tennis Coach – Coming to a Court Near You?

It’s that time of year again. The streets of south west London are full of tennis fans enjoying the Wimbledon Championships, and the world’s best players are strutting their stuff in front of packed crowds and a global audience. It’s no coincidence that this time of year also coincides, in the UK at least, with people collecting dusty rackets from storage and heading out for a game of their own. So what’s this got to do with drones? Well, international fitness chain Virgin Active has developed a drone to help frustrated tennis players improve their game…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=53&v=-M8BGPdXN7c

We use the term ‘developed’ in the loosest possible way. Virgin Active’s drone appears to be a DJI Phantom 3 painted red, with a couple of other adaptations. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the concept doesn’t work.

However gimmicky this drone might seem, any attempt to merge UAV technology with sports training is going to turn heads and hint at an exciting future. In this case, Virgin Active’s tennis drone hangs a ball from a thin piece of string and drops it on command. This potentially offers a handy way of practising overhead shots, which can’t currently be perfected without the help of a partner.

We’ve all seen the automated machines that shoot tennis balls at all different velocities and angles, but perhaps in the future, drones a little more advanced than Virgin Active’s offering could shoot balls toward players better simulating professional shots. In case you are curious, the drone in the video above is currently being trialled at Virgin Active’s Northwood location. Feel free to head there if you fancy trying out what Virgin Active are trailing as “the future of sports training”.

It’s a long way off what UAV technology could eventually allow, but that’s no reason to dismiss the concept at this early stage. Who knows: autonomous flight combined with obstacle avoidance and the ability to shoot balls at pre-determined trajectories – We could be on to something.