Vodafone 5G Partners with WING for First-Ever Hologram Coaching Session Starring Emma Raducanu

Vodafone today unveils a new campaign demonstrating how the power of 5G connectivity and technology has the potential to change coaching in tennis by connecting promising young players to the very best coaches wherever they are in the world. In a new campaign developed and executed by award-winning creative agency WING, new hologram technology powered by Vodafone’s 5G network, brought 20-year-old tennis superstar Emma Raducanu to two talented young grassroots tennis players with the first-ever 5G holographic coaching session - despite them being 4,370 miles apart.

The surprise once-in-a-lifetime lesson was delivered to Sam Clague (14) and T’nae Diamond Paisley (12) as Emma appeared as a live 3D hologram in London captured from her training camp in Abu Dhabi. 

Directed by Will Ingham and produced by Owen Cox, 4000 Mile Holo5Gram Coach is a continuation of Vodafone’s 8000 Mile Auto5Graph from July 2021 featuring the British and Irish Lions and is a social first campaign delivered as 7 x 1:1 films optimised for Instagram. Both campaigns were devised and delivered by WING (Little Dot Studios’ sport specialist production agency).

4000 Mile Holo5Gram relied upon the latest camera technology sending live 4K HDR video from Abu Dhabi across superfast, low latency Vodafone 5G to ultra high lumen dual 4k laser projectors in Wimbledon over 4000 miles away. The feed was then projected onto a 14m x 10m high definition hologauze, allowing the lesson to be delivered live and in real time over Vodafone’s 5G network. Superfast 5G and innovative 3D holographic technology meant that despite the huge distance there was no delay between Emma delivering the lesson in Abu Dhabi and her 5G hologram on court at the AELTC Community Tennis Centre in London. Through this campaign we see the true potential of remote sports coaching lessons in the near future.

Will Ingham, WING founder and creative director, said: “These kinds of projects really allow us to push boundaries and create unique world first moments by fusing the worlds of technology and creativity, bringing to life ‘real life’ showcases that have true meaning to fans and the world of sport. It’s an unusual conundrum to work up a moonshot idea and then reverse engineer it into the realm of the possible but also a very cool way of approaching a brand campaign. Enabling a remote coaching session in such a unique way was a huge challenge across all of the agency but one that we really relished.”

In support of the campaign, Vodafone has also commissioned a new piece of research exploring the future of technology in tennis and found that almost half of Brits (47%) believe future advances in the game could improve the way children learn to play, and 43% think it could change the way they are introduced to the sport. Almost seven in 10 (66%) tennis fans believe remote coaching using holographic technology could help inspire the next generation of tennis players.

As the future of tennis continues to evolve, the study has predicted the sport could advance to include smart balls (19%), nets (18%) and sweatbands (17%) that provide in-depth data on the game, as well as the addition of hologram coaches who are able to go on court during matches (16%).

The research also revealed self-controllable drone cameras (15%) and smart sensors on players (17%) are other tech modifications fans would like to see in the future. 

Futurologist, Dr Ian Pearson, has shared his own predictions for how 5G technology that powered the holographic coaching session could blur the boundaries between real life and virtual reality, allowing tennis matches and coaching to take place with anyone, anywhere… even in space! Dr Pearson’s full predictions in NTE. 

According to the data, the public are already calling out for technological changes in the sport, with 63% wanting a more interactive experience and 62% wanting to feel more immersed in the action - whether watching on TV or in person. Almost a fifth (17%) of tennis fans would love to see this interaction through body cameras on the players. 

Sam and T’nae are both competing in Vodafone Play Your Way to Wimbledon, the UK’s largest individual mass participation tennis competition which provides players with the opportunity to compete on the world-famous grass courts at Wimbledon. 2023 sees the competition open-up to more players, with nine regional disability events split between Visual Impairment, Learning Disability and Wheelchair tennis categories acting as qualifying tournaments.

Vodafone is the Official Connectivity Partner to Wimbledon and The All England Lawn Tennis Club.