In the last few years, the NFT (non-fungible token) market has grown and is expected to reach $146 billion by 2026. The world of golf and the NFL have had incredible success in their NFT projects, and figures within tennis are attempting to emulate that success. Wimbledon is no exception, as two NFT projects are being launched during the tournament this year.
Several Wimbledon stars, including Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray, have already participated in projects, and this year’s Grand Slam tournaments have launched their own NFTs. Wimbledon will join its contemporaries in a noteworthy adoption of blockchain technology.
15 Love is one of the two projects set for launch during the championships. Tokens cost around $100 each (depending on the price of Ethereum cryptocurrency), and there are 7,777 NFTs in the collection. Some of the utilities (perks) provided to NFT holders include metaverse and Zoom events featuring 15 Love tennis ambassadors (pros and legends including Wimbledon winners and world number ones) and chances to win a range of tennis prizes and real-life utilities.
The tokens themselves consist of unique 3D digital tennis racquets. Their long-term aim is to develop a community within the metaverse. The 15 Love team has already created a virtual Tennis Hall of Fame, a virtual stadium, a museum, and other virtual spaces. The collection is due to be released in the final week of Wimbledon, and tokens can be purchased on the 15 Love website using ETH (Ethereum) through a MetaMask wallet. The site explains the investment process for users new to purchasing cryptocurrency or NFTs.
The other planned NFT launch during Wimbledon 2022 is the Centenary Collection. Tokens are £500 each, limited to 1000, and purchasers must put their name in a ballot to have a chance of owning an NFT. The collection celebrates 100 years of Wimbledon’s Centre Court and includes photos of Wimbledon players from decades past, though users cannot choose which period they are allocated. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is overseeing the project, has not announced any plans to attach utility to the tokens.
Those involved in NFT projects are often key to them being successful. 15 Love is run by Sabrina Stocker, star of BBC’s The Apprentice and the CEO of Metaverse Media, a prominent PR company that promotes Web3 businesses. She has a tennis background as a player and event organizer and has helped coach juniors at Wimbledon alongside Tim Henman, the nine-time Wimbledon semi-finalist. Stocker’s brother and co-founder Kyle, who played at Wimbledon as a junior, is now a world-ranked professional player with his eyes fixed on success at the world’s oldest tennis tournament.
“Web3 is allowing tennis fans to get ever closer to the pros, and our NFT projects will compete to create the biggest tennis community in the metaverse,” Kyle commented. “I’m lucky to have grown up in the tennis world, and now with the technology of Web3, I want to give back and allow fans to experience what I did in the game.”
“What differentiates us is our sense of community,” he continued. “We are already in final talks with some of the biggest names and brands in the tennis and business worlds, including multiple Wimbledon winners and multi-billion dollar companies. Development in Web3 is good for tennis, and I look forward to seeing which token comes out on top.”
The Centenary Collection has been created by Glorious Digital, a New Zealand art studio that has also worked with musicians and athletes. It brings the world’s oldest tennis tournament in line with the French and US Opens, who have both launched their own NFTs this year.
While utilization of the blockchain is welcomed, adoption by large organizations often only serves to feed FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in the NFT community. The common denominator among tennis-based tokens to date is the pure aesthetic value on offer. Web3 advocates today are more demanding of utility in NFT offerings, so FUD has only grown.
As the championships will no doubt see battles on the court, these two new projects will battle it out to win over Wimbledon and NFT fans.
Disclaimer: The content and opinions of this article are intended to be used for informational purposes only and are not to be taken as investment advice. It is important to do your own research and analysis before collecting and trading any NFTs.