IBM renews Wimbledon technology partnership

IBM has agreed a multi-year renewal as the official AI, cloud and digital transformation partner for The All England Lawn Tennis Club.

It follows last summer's AI companion app for the Wimbledon tournament.

The partnership between the IT firm and the English tennis body has run for 36 years, and has included the launch of the Wimbledon website launch in 1995, the mobile application in 2009 and the first AI-powered solutions introduced in 2017.

Teams from IBM and the All England Club co-create fan features such as Live Likelihood to Win and Match Chat that combine tournament data with IBM watsonx, the company added.

The 2025 experience helped drive a 16% year-on-year increase in engagement across all platforms, according to IBM, with more than 20 million fans followed via the app and website. The app specifically saw a 19% increase in engagement and received an average rating of 4.9 stars in app stores.

“We are delighted to have agreed a multi-year extension to our long-standing partnership with IBM,” said Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing & Commercial Director, The All England Lawn Tennis Club.

“For 36 years, IBM and the All England Club have embraced innovation and created world-leading digital experiences to bring our fans closer to The Championships.

"As we look to attract the next generation of Wimbledon fans from around the world, the AI-powered capabilities of IBM will be key to ensuring our future digital experiences are relevant, personalised and engaging.”

“The All England Club is a visionary organisation, delivering one of the most globally recognisable properties in sport and broader culture. We are thrilled to continue working in lockstep as partners to serve up a world-class digital experience, driven by leading edge data and AI technology,” said Jonathan Adashek, IBM Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications.

The Recap

• IBM renewed its multi-year technology partnership with the All England Club.
• 36 years of collaboration across Wimbledon digital platforms and services.
• Agreement aims to deepen fan engagement in 2026 and beyond.