This Company Wants to Save Your Tennis Game

Dec 31

On the last day of 2023, we’re gonna try something a little different. For the first time on the Weekly One Pager, I want to talk about a company you can judge for yourself. Because this week’s startup doesn’t build logistics drones, high tech synthetic fibers, or a corporate bookkeeping software. No. This week’s company is SwingVision.

And they’ve built an app to… help you get better at tennis!

I’ll start by admitting that I don’t play tennis. And I understand if you think that invalidates my thoughts on the company. But I don’t use Crypto or develop pharmaceuticals with quantum computers either. And you people seemed to like those other articles, so don’t start complaining now. Besides, even if this is a consumer product, I’m here to review the company, not the app.

So what is this app anyway?

I’m sure the suspense is killing you.

In a nutshell, what SwingVision does is allow tennis players to record their games (matches?) Then the platform’s AI tools automatically edit out all the “dead air” between plays, saving time, and giving players a streamlined video they can use to review their technique. It also serves up (ha!) cool stats like ball speed, hitting percentages, and a bunch of other stuff that I assume you fluffy yellow tennis heads can’t get enough of.

One of the reasons I wanted to write about this company is because I like the idea of bringing professional level stats and tools to amateur level players. Power to the people and all that. I also saw that some tennis pros had invested in the Series A, which is both cool, and shows that tennis players really do find value in this thing.

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Moreover, some digging on tennis forums seemed to show that people do like SwingVision. Although more than a few users doubted the accuracy of the ball speed calculations. Oh well. And for what it’s worth, the app does have more than two thousand reviews on the Apple Store, with a 4.7 average rating.

That might sound like a decent amount of traction. But the only app on my phone with a similarly low number of reviews was a janky Spanish grammar app called “ConjuGato” that I impulsively downloaded right before a flight to South America.

What I’m saying is, it’s still early days for SwingVision.

How do they make money?

Like a lot of apps, SwingVision offers a free version, as well as the option to upgrade to a paid “Pro” experience. Premium unlocks unlimited video storage for recorded games, and some other toolset improvements. But the biggest difference between SwingVision and the other apps on your phone is an upgrade won’t just cost you a dollar or two. It’s 150 dollars per year for a subscription.

Thankfully tennis players tend to skew pretty high up the socioeconomic ladder. So maybe the user base can bear the cost?

But that does beg the question:

How big a market is there for this sort of thing?

I found a source saying 23 million Americans claim to play tennis. Let’s pretend that’s accurate and not like a poll asking how many people “claim” to be on a diet. I’m gonna say that only 2 million of those racqueteers might be serious enough to consider using an app to improve their game. And I’ll generously assume that half of users opt for “premium” status. At 150 dollars per year for a subscription, that suggests SwingVision has something like a $150 million market opportunity. Which isn’t nothing, but it also isn’t big enough that I could see this getting to IPO scale.

You’re probably thinking, “Not everything needs to be a billion dollar business though right?”

And it’s true, you should be very proud if you founded a business doing $150M in revenue. But if that’s your best case scenario, investors will rightly wonder, could this ever really be the slam dunk investment I need in my portfolio?

The Bull Case

This is where it’s important to mention SwingVision has a few other tricks up their sleeve. For one, they sell a “Swing Stick” fence mount for your phone (that the algorithm won’t stop pushing me on Instagram since I started researching this company). Another interesting thing is their app also has something close to a “social” section.

See below:

And here, I want to go on a brief diversion in order to illustrate a point:

I love the company Figs. If you don’t know them, they make comfortable, fashionable scrubs for doctors and nurses. And the doctors and nurses I know love their Figs. Meanwhile I absolutely love this business. Because they sell a product to a wealthy client base, with stable employment, and a real need for their product. Every medical workers needs scrubs, and they’re excited about a product that fills that niche but enables a bit more personal customization. And because of that genuine use case and brand goodwill in a valuable customer segment, they’ve been able to expand out into socks, shoes, and other peripheral segments. They’re killing the game.

I think the only way SwingVision wins is if they manage to pull off a similar feat for tennis players.

It’s a wealthy customer base. And they’re probably playing tennis for life. But SwingVision can’t just be an app for backhand accuracy and game video. They have to find a way to build loyalty and enthusiasm in their base of players and coaches. Draw then into the network and keep adding value. Sell products. Help people find local trainers and player groups. Be the digital home for tennis in America, and then they’ve got a real grand slam.

At the moment, it looks like they have some solid recurring revenue, a few big evangelists, and a great foundation for growth.

Not a bad way to start off the New Year.

Until next time. This has been,