How SportAI is changing the game for coaches, players, federations, and broadcasters

Ask anyone who plays sports for more than just fun, and they'll tell you that improving your technique and skills can be expensive and often lacks the detailed feedback needed for consistent progress. A decade ago, sensor-embedded rackets paired with companion apps promised a new era of data-driven performance analytics. But the technology never truly scaled.

Now, a Norwegian company SportAI,  has cracked the code — bringing accessible, scalable data analytics to racket sports players, coaches, and more through software, not hardware.

The Oslo-headquartered company was co-founded in late 2023 by ex-NCAA tennis player Lauren Pedersen (CEO), Felipe Longé (CTO) and Andreas Thome (Board Chairman, ex-CEO of Play Magnus) alongside tech-startup heavyweights Espen Agdestein (Board member), and Trond Kittelsen (Head of Commercial and tennis app founder).

I spoke to Pedersen to learn more.

Originally from New Zealand, Pedersen grew up playing many sports, particularly tennis. She ended up taking a tennis scholarship to play NCAA Division I college tennis in the US in Washington, DC, for four years. 

A career working in large advertising agencies followed, first in New York and then in London, before moving to Oslo 17 years ago – Pedersen represented Norway in the ITF Masters Tour World Championships. 

Since then, she worked in the tech industry, building and working with scale-up companies growing out of the Nordics.

In 2023, she co-founded SportAI. She shared: 

"It's the first time I've been a founder, and it's also the first time I've been able to truly combine my passion for sports with my career in tech."

Pedersen and her fellow co-founders started the company because coaching, analysis, and commentary around sports technique are still subjective, expensive, and unscalable. 

She detailed:

"Take tennis, for example—if I take a lesson anywhere in the world, it could easily cost €100 or more. Even with a good coach, three or four coaches would all give me different feedback on my serve, and there's no data to back any of it up.

It's the same with the broadcast industry. There's lots of data and stats during events like Wimbledon, but when it comes to technique, you're really just hearing subjective opinions from commentators. So, we saw that as a key challenge.

Now, with AI — especially computer vision and machine learning — we're able to analyse video from almost any source, whether it's a phone or a court camera, and deliver biomechanical analysis of an athlete."

Bringing analytics to all

SportAI analyses player techniques in real-time, such as their tennis or paddle swing, before delivering instant, personalised feedback to improve performance. 

Using machine learning, computer vision, and biometric technology, a player's technique can be instantly compared to thousands of other players, including top sporting professionals, with objective and precise written and visual analysis — it's the first time that kind of technique analysis has become objective and scalable.

SportAI can offer automated data-based analysis to millions of players, a service typically only affordable for professional players with access to performance analysts. 

Business-wise, the company operates as a B2B SaaS platform. Its main clients are larger organisations such as federations, broadcasters, major academies, and even sports equipment brands. 

For example, broadcasters can also use the technology to enrich their live sporting commentary.

SportAI speaks to everyone in the industry—coaches, players, federations, and Pedersen tests out the tech herself. She noted:

"One of the most exciting things is how instant the analysis is. Instead of needing someone to manually draw or tag video, the analysis happens immediately from the video itself. Most people don't have access to a coach who could do that—only professional players really do."

From the federation side, the scalability is a game-changer. Instead of analysing 10 or 20 players, they can now gather data from thousands and track their progress in a way that wasn't possible before.

From players to racket manufacturers 

Significantly, SportAI is hardware agnostic, capable of analysing video from mobile phones, cameras mounted at courts or playing arenas, and broadcast feeds. 

Previously, video analysis required manual tagging by coaches using specific hardware, which limited scalability and longevity. 

By partnering with major sports organisations and automating analysis from any video, SportAI can reach wide audiences and integrate technique analysis into training for pros, recreational players and fans. 

The company is also working with racket brands to understand how people play and how to better design and recommend equipment based on actual performance data.

Pedersen detailed:

"Most people don't know what racket to buy—they go for what their favourite player uses, which usually isn't the best fit for them. 

Player-level detection via a short video clip allows us to match a player's actual technique and ability to the right equipment. Most racket brands design different rackets for different levels of players—but most people don't know which one is right for them. We can help bridge that gap with data.

That increases consumer confidence and also helps brands with conversion."

Compared to the aforementioned market rackets, SportAI thinks the software-based approach is much more scalable. 

"Not everyone has access to smart rackets or sensors. But almost everyone has a phone. That's what makes our solution so scalable; it works with the tools people already have.

It's also beneficial for brands and retailers. They can offer a smart technique analysis service and get valuable data for personalised recommendations without dealing with the challenges of hardware such as  maintenance, batteries, and adoption."

An opportunity to scale across ball sports

SportAI is starting with racket sports—tennis, paddle, and now pickleball—where repeated techniques make performance analysis especially valuable. While tennis has been relatively slow to adopt new tech, the rapid rise of paddle and pickleball brings new market opportunities. Further, the platform has the potential to scale across other sports where technique matters, from basketball free throws to baseball pitches.

One of SportAi's first customers is Matchi, a Swedish-founded company that's one of the fastest-growing racket sports platforms in the world. 

They're known for their court booking app and also operate Matchi TV, a video streaming service. Of the 15,000 courts they manage, around 2,000 are already camera-enabled.

Pedersen explained:

"Through Matchi, we deliver automated video analysis, highlights, and statistics—like how far someone ran, how many forehands they hit, and the longest rally. It's a perfect first large-scale collaboration and a strong marketing tool.

It's also a new revenue stream for clubs and federations. Players love highlights and data and are willing to pay for it. So this becomes an ecosystem win."