The outstanding technological innovation from Microsoft will play a pivotal role in the most relevant international competition in women’s tennis, scheduled from November 7th to 12th in Seville. During the Finals of the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge, players will have access to data analytics that will provide essential information to perfect their game strategy during matches. This event, which awards the title of World Champions to the victors, stands out in the tennis world for allowing coaches’ advice between games.
Microsoft has partnered with the tournament and Billie Jean King herself to create innovative technology that will allow players and team captains to visualize data and analysis almost in real-time, giving them the ability to make informed decisions during matches. The data is captured by cameras that meticulously track the trajectories of the balls and through 3D radar systems. This data is made available through a control panel that leverages the power of Microsoft Azure cloud to process and analyze crucial aspects of the game, such as player movements.
### Valuable Information at Your Fingertips
On the court, the dashboard is operated from Microsoft Surface devices that, thanks to their power, versatility, and touch screens, become a great ally in displaying all the game data and being able to interact with it in a natural, visual, and almost instantaneous way. The system collects information from both the player and her opponent, facilitating strategic decision-making. Every time the players change sides in a match in this tournament, they can analyze the last two games with their captain and decide the best course of action.
The displayed information is divided into blocks: serving and returning shots, with trajectory analysis, forehands, and backhands; court coverage, with a visual heat map analyzing the player’s movements; and hitting points, with the percentage distribution of hits on the court.
*”I would have loved to be a player with this data. You learn about position, play patterns, speed… All the things that can make you a better player,”* says **Billie Jean King**.
### A Trailblazer for Equality in Sports
With 39 Grand Slam titles, **Billie Jean King is not only one of the greatest tennis players in history**, but also one of the greatest advocates for equality in sports. In 1973, she and her fellow players achieved equal compensation for women at the US Open and led the creation of the WTA, the Women’s Tennis Association. The Billie Jean King Cup tournament adopted her name in 2020, but it was in 2022, with the support of its global sponsor Gainbridge, that the organization decided to equalize the competitors’ salaries with those received by players in the Davis Cup, the equivalent men’s tournament.
The finals will be held at the La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, the same venue where Spain won the Davis Cup in 2004 and 2011, dressed up for the occasion with two covered courts and three others for training, all of them with a fast surface. With Conchita Martinez as the tournament director, players from twelve countries will compete for the trophy: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and USA. All of them will have Microsoft’s technology available on the court.