Ask tennis fans how they fell for the game and no two answers are the same. For some, it was a night session under the lights. For others, a first hit on a local court.

That personal connection is what we’re excited to build on. Adobe is now the Official AI Marketing and Creativity Partner of the Australian Open and Tennis Australia. It’s our first tennis partnership anywhere in the world, and a chance to show what happens when creativity, marketing, and AI come together around a sport people care deeply about.

Three weeks of tennis, a whole year of fans.

The scale of the tournament is hard to match. The Australian Open draws more than 1.3 million spectators to Melbourne Park, tens of millions of digital visitors, and a global television audience in the billions. The challenge is turning that audience into lasting relationships that extend beyond the three-week calendar.

So, the question isn’t how to make the three weeks bigger — it’s what to do with the other 49.

Tennis Australia’s view is simple: happy fans stay longer, come more often, and spend more. Better understanding of each fan means stronger results for the event and for the sport. Picture a fan who watches a quarter-final in January and, a few months later, feels welcome at a court near home. That’s the kind of connection this partnership is built to create.

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Bringing data and digital together.

Tennis Australia will use Adobe CX Enterprise, our end-to-end platform for customer experience orchestration, to bring its data and digital capabilities together. The result is more personalized, connected experiences for fans, patrons, and participants, whether they’re at home, on the go, or courtside.

At the tournament itself, patrons can be connected with the matches, dining options, and activities that suit their needs and interests. Beyond the tournament, the same technology can make it easier for people to find tennis clubs, book courts, and join programs such as Hot Shots Tennis. Content and campaigns can also be tailored for audiences around the world while staying true to the distinctive Australian Open brand.

Different sports, same opportunity.

Tennis joins the sporting organizations Adobe works with around the world, including the National Football League, the National Hockey League, the Premier League, Major League Baseball, and the PGA Tour. The sports and audiences are different, but the focus is shared: building more relevant, individual relationships with fans.

That’s what excites me most. Fandom is both collective and deeply personal. Millions of people can watch the same match, yet what each fan cares about, from players to content to taking part, can be completely different. Every interaction tells us something about what they value, and with AI, sport can now act on that at a scale that wasn’t possible before.

Giving fans the canvas.

Fans are some of the best storytellers in the world, so the best thing a sports organization or a brand can do is give them the canvas.

Adobe exists to empower everyone to create, and sport is one of the best places to see it. Nobody needs a design degree to make a poster for their favorite player. They need the right canvas. As part of the partnership, fans will get access to Adobe’s AI-powered tools to celebrate and share their love of the game in their own way. With those tools handling the heavy lifting, the passion, the ideas, and the point of view still belong to the fan.

Used well, AI makes the experience feel more personal, more relevant, and more fun for every fan. From content that finds each fan at the right moment to tools that let them create something of their own, the aim is to make tennis feel closer, not further away.

The best outcome? A fan who plays.

Tennis Australia’s goals are bold: to make tennis Australia’s number one participation sport, and the Australian Open the biggest tennis event in the world. Billed as the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific, the tournament can also be a springboard for year-round play and fan moments across the region. Every fan who feels connected to the game is a step closer to picking up a racquet.

Australian Open 2027 starts on 11 January. I can’t wait to see where this partnership takes us, and what fans create along the way.

Learn how Adobe is helping sports organizations turn every fan moment into a more personal, connected experience.

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