AI Sportswire

Where sports meets AI innovation. Your ultimate source for AI news, tools and products shaping the sports and fitness industries.

Author

Tina Wilmott
May 22, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

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If you are an organizaton in the sports industry using AI in an interesting way, I’d love to feature you. Just respond to this email and let’s talk!

In today's email:

🤖 China announces first-ever humanoid robot sports games with 11 events from track and field to gymnastics

🎾 Revolutionary AI tennis coaching robot and smart fitness wearables transforming athletic training

🎬 Google I/O 2025 unveils massive AI upgrades including video generation with sound and $250/month Ultra plan

💡 "Plug-and-Plan" PR template for creating comprehensive outdoor sports campaigns

🔧 AI-powered tools for accountability, SEO optimization, and design animation

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AI in Sports and Fitness

China is making history by hosting the world's first humanoid robot sports games from August 15-17, 2025, at Beijing's iconic Olympic venues. The groundbreaking competition will feature robots competing in 11 events including track and field, gymnastics, soccer, dance routines, and real-world professional tasks like medicine sorting and industrial material handling.

Computing giant Acer launched the FreeSense Ring, an AI-enhanced smart ring offering heart rate, HRV, blood oxygen, and sleep quality monitoring with no subscription fees required. Weighing just 2-3g and crafted from ultra-light titanium alloy, the ring represents a major tech company's serious entry into wearable fitness technology.

San Francisco-based T-Apex launched Tenniix, a revolutionary AI tennis coaching robot that glides around the court delivering personalized drills and serves up to 75 mph. Trained on 8,000+ hours of professional coaching, the 15.4-lb robot provides real-time feedback through voice control and offers over 1,000 customizable drills for players of any skill level.

Eight Sleep's Pod 5 features AI-powered "Health Check" that monitors cardiovascular and respiratory health during sleep without requiring wearable devices. Starting at $2,849, the system includes temperature control from 55-110°F, automatic snore-response elevation, and integrated surround sound for optimized sleep performance.

Glo Yoga Studios is opening this summer in Malibu with infrared heat and YogaGPT, an AI system that helps guests navigate class offerings and scheduling. The studio combines various yoga styles with immersive lighting and premium amenities for a fully personalized wellness experience.

Revolutionary AI-driven motion capture technology is transforming sports performance analysis by eliminating cumbersome marker-based systems through deep learning models like OpenPose. Athletes can now analyze their technique with just a smartphone camera, making elite-level biomechanical analysis accessible to grassroots sports programs.

Unlock the Social Media Tactics That Work Right Now

Is your social strategy ready for what's next in 2025?

HubSpot Media's latest Social Playbook reveals what's actually working for over 1,000 global marketing leaders across TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.

Inside this comprehensive report, you’ll discover:

  • Which platforms are delivering the highest ROI in 2025

  • Content formats driving the most engagement across industries

  • How AI is transforming social content creation and analytics

  • Tactical recommendations you can implement immediately

Unlock the playbook—free when you subscribe to the Masters in Marketing newsletter.

Get cutting-edge insights, twice a week, from the marketing leaders shaping the future.

🧰 Tools and Tips

  • Whether it is your work or workout, Accountability Buddy will keep you on track with a simple text to motivate and hold you accountable.

  • Now available as a mobile app (finally!), turn your uploaded documents and sources into engaging audio discussions with NotebookLM.

  • With an increasing number of people using LLMs to search for information online, SEO as we know it is gone. Promptwatch will boost your company's visibility in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and other AI search engines, monitor mentions and ensure your business stays top of mind.

  • Get on the waitlist for Magic Animator to animate your designs in seconds with AI.

💡Prompt of the Day

“Plug-and-Plan” PR Template

“Create a fill-in-the-blank PR plan template for outdoor sports campaigns. Include sections for goals, key messages, media targets, influencer strategy, and launch phases.”

📦 Who this works for:

  • Gear brands launching new products (like trail shoes, GPS watches, or nutrition lines)

  • Race directors and event managers promoting triathlons, tunning events and other endurance races

  • PR freelancers or in-house teams building pitch-ready strategies

  • Athlete managers looking to spotlight sponsorships or ambassador content

  • Anyone needing a repeatable campaign structure tailored to the endurance world

Beyond Sports: AI News Bytes

Lots of big news from Google’s annual developer conference this week. We have included some highights below, but I recommend you check out this great 10 minute video that summarizes and shows examples of each of their new AI announcements.

Other big news: OpenAI acquired iPhone designer Jony Ive's startup for nearly $6.5 billion, their largest acquisition ever. The partnership aims to create "AI-first devices" that go beyond current smartphone and computer limitations. Sam Altman claims he has a prototype that's the "coolest piece of technology the world has ever seen," with plans to share their work starting in 2026.

Amazon launched AI-powered audio product summaries featuring "AI shopping experts" that discuss key features and customer reviews. The feature is currently being tested on select products for US customers, similar to Google's NotebookLM audio overviews but focused on commerce.

A major journalism controversy erupted when the Chicago Sun-Times confirmed AI was used to create a summer reading list featuring entirely fictional books by real authors. The incident highlights the ongoing challenges newspapers face in implementing AI while maintaining editorial integrity.

AI Art Challenge

Image of the day with the prompt: Recreate the race of 'The Tortoise and the Hare.'

Send us your AI image here for next week’s issue using the prompt: Robot caddie

Do you have ideas on what we should publish next? Respond to this email and let me know! I read every reply.

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