Tennis Australia has transformed the world's best players into animated versions of themselves to bypass broadcast restrictions at the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic will resume his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title when the fourth round of the Australian Open begins on Sunday at Melbourne Park, where defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.

In a unique workaround to address geographical streaming constraints and copyrights issues, the Australian Open 2025 organizers have modified players to animation, enabling viewers to free access to all games albeit at a cost.

The Australian Open might look a little different this year if you’re livestreaming it on YouTube. That’s because the tournament has put an animated overlay on some of its matches to avoid broadcast licensing conflicts, making players look an awful lot like Wii Sports characters, as reported earlier by The Guardian.

The Australian Open is getting in on the newest trend in the sports world by re-creating tennis matches in video-game form

Record-holder of ten Australian Open titles, Novak Djokovic aims for another triumph in the Land Down Under as the year's first Grand Slam gets underway.

Maybe attending sports events in person is too been-there, done-that in the modern age. So, apparently, is watching the actual action on a TV, laptop or phone. The Australian Open is getting in on the newest trend in the sports world by re-creating tennis matches in video-game form.