The 2013 Wimbledon Championship has been full of exciting twists and upsets. From the shocking early exits of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to Marion Bartoli’s first ever Grand Slam title, tennis fans have been sitting on the edge of their seats since the tournament began.
With tickets to each match in high demand, many tennis fans have turned to The Championships, Wimbledon 2013 app, available for Apple products in the app store at no cost. The app was created by IBM and The All England Lawn Tennis Club and gives users numerous ways to connect to the tournament from anywhere in the world.
Created in 2009, the app has since been updated eight different times to add iPad and iPod touch compatibility as well as other widgets such as “player profiles” of each tennis player at Wimbledon.
The easy-to-use app opens to a page of the latest news stories from Wimbledon, giving fans a convenient way to obtain all tournament information in one place. Other widgets on the home page include “live scores” where users can see full stats from any match, “results” which gives fans the opportunity to see the outcomes of previously played matches, and “order of play” where users can pick any day of the tournament and see who is playing and where.
The app becomes even more impressive when fans venture into the other widgets available, including a “players” section. In this widget, fans can search for any player at Wimbledon and obtain information ranging from their best singles and doubles performances at the tournament, to how much prize money they’ve made to date.
Other widgets include “live video & radio” as well as “live alerts” which gives fans the ability to set notification alerts for certain matches or players.
Although the app itself is free, one widget included is a link to the official Wimbledon shop where fans can purchase items ranging from tournament gear to tennis equipment.
With 13 different widgets available on the app, users have the ability to easily configure which three apps they want on the homepage and which widgets they want under the “more” section.
The ability to have this app on a mobile device gives users an on-the-go convenience while giving the creators of the app an advantage over other Grand Slam tournaments that may not have an app. With technology rapidly increasing in use on a daily basis, IBM and The All England Lawn Tennis Club have partnered to give tennis fans a more convenient way to connect with the 136 year old tradition of Wimbledon.