Top tennis body lobs into start-up space

Tennis Australia could emerge as a seed or early-stage investor in technology start-ups.

Tennis Australia’s Machar Reid.

Tennis Australia could emerge as a seed or early-stage investor in technology start-ups as part of the launch and running of its own technology accelerator program.

The governing body’s move is believed to be the first of its type in Australian sport, and will see it team up with US firm TechStars to select 10 start-ups from around the world to participate in the program at Tennis Australia’s Melbourne headquarters after January’s Australian Open.

TechStars will take submissions globally and then 10 projects and companies will be flown to Australia for about 12 weeks as early as next March, Tennis Australia head of innovation Machar Reid told The Australian.

The program will also be supported by Victoria University, which has collaborated with Tennis Australia on several data analytics and technology ventures, and the Victorian start-up agency LaunchVic.

While the program will primarily have a focus on sports technology and could help the organisation improve high-performance training, Tennis Australia is also interested in technology that could help it from a stadium and events management angle as well as media and data rights, commercial sponsorship ventures and gambling areas.

The accelerator, to be called the TechStars SportsTech Melbourne Accelerator, will support start-ups across different sectors and at different stages, according to organisers.

Dr Reid said Tennis Australia was approaching the venture as an opportunity to learn management techniques from the start-ups and with a view to finding investment opportunities. “This (working with start-ups) is probably something we don’t do well enough in sport in Australia.

“So we would like to be more of a part of that, but we also think exposing our staff to the start-up culture will have a positive effect. And then there is the potential opportunity for us to make investments in the space as well.”

The first year of the program will culminate in a demonstration day where start-ups will pitch their accelerated business models to investors and industry leaders.

“Capturing a share of the growing global sports tech market, which is projected to be worth $US3.8 billion ($5.4bn) in 2027, presents a significant opportunity for Victoria to leverage its key strength in sport to fuel skilled jobs growth,” LaunchVIC chief executive Kate Cornick said.

The accelerator is the second focused on sports technology launched by TechStars after a similar venture in Indianapolis.