How Nike and AKQA Used AI and Machine Learning to Simulate a Virtual Tennis Match Between Serena Williams’ Past and Present Selves

Nike and AKQA collaborated to create a groundbreaking AI-driven virtual tennis match featuring Serena Williams from two eras: her 1999 US Open debut and her 2017 Australian Open peak. By analyzing archival footage and gameplay data-including shot selection, reaction times, agility, and decision-making-machine learning models recreated detailed avatars of Serena from each era. Using Stanford University’s vid2player technique, the avatars were rendered to interact seamlessly in a live-streamed virtual match, showcasing Serena’s evolution and celebrating her career.

Traditional sports storytelling lacked immersive, data-driven visualization of athlete evolution

AI and machine learning analysis of archival footage to model playing styles; vid2player technology to render interactive avatars; multi-platform social media campaign