As we get set for the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open Tennis Championship has partnered with Doppelgänger to launch an Immersive experience on the Roblox platform.
Tennis fans will soon be able to participate in a series of exciting quests and challenges in ‘Champions of the Court’ on Roblox. Fans can play matches, and embark on treasure hunts with avatars like Coco Gauff and legend Billie Jean King.
They can also earn and spend tokens to purchase in-experience items like tennis rackets and balls. This campaign also marks the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) first appearance on Roblox.
Brian Ryerson, senior director, of digital strategy at USTA says, “Utilising new platforms to bring the US Open experience to new generations of fans is always a priority for us. Roblox has provided a great platform for us to do that, as we hope to engage as many new fans with an incredible, authentic experience that serves as an entry point to both the US Open and the sport of tennis.”
By celebrating female athletes in ‘Champions of the Court,’ the USTA aims to highlight that 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the US Open being an event that provides equal prize money to both male and female competitors.
Engaging fans in new ways
To provide users with an enjoyable and fulfilling experience, the virtual world was crafted by merging visuals from the renowned USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. It combines features from other tennis-related experiences on Roblox, such as ‘Wimble World,’ which was created by The Gang, a sister company of Doppelgänger last year and ‘AO Adventure,’ which debuted on January 10th and has garnered over 11.5 million visits.
“By harnessing Roblox’s huge reach and increasingly influential userbase, the ‘Champions of the Court’ experience will help to support USTA’s mission to engage and introduce younger fans to tennis and the US Open,” said Max Proctor, managing director at Doppelgänger.
The US Open’s long-term partners, Emirates Airline and Ralph Lauren, are also teaming up with the ‘Champions of the Court’ adventure, giving users the opportunity to win digital fashion items and rewards featuring their brands by participating in a range of challenges.
This activation is set to grow even more with an upcoming expansion that’ll allow fans to move between the virtual realms of ‘AO Adventure’ and ‘Champions of the Court,’ where they can engage in cross-experience activities to win prizes.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
