Andy Murray of Great Britain practicing prior to the 2017 US Open Tennis Championships. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Tennis superstar Andy Murray wants to get more people in the UK playing his sport. So he’s investing in a startup called Deuce that will help users find nearby open courts at next-to-no cost. The app’s founder, Matt Willcocks, dubs it the “AirBnB for tennis.”
Deuce was launched regionally as a pilot earlier this month in Hertfordshire. By sometime around early July, the app will spread to London and elsewhere. Subscribers can book one court per day and one session per week for £10 a month. As well as finding courts, it can also assist users in finding somebody to play with, or set them up with a coach-led practice session.
“There are lots of schemes out there for encouraging participation but this is the first time I’ve backed something like this,” said Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, in a statement. “The team behind Deuce are really impressive and they have a working knowledge of tennis and tennis clubs in this country so they really understand the issues and the potential.
The company already has plans for new features that could include tennis tips, news, and the ability to find players of the same level to compete against.
“Tennis is such a great sport with so many benefits—physical, mental and social, but we simply don’t have enough people playing in this country. We need to fill empty courts with people playing more often and Deuce uses today’s technology to do this in a simple, welcoming and affordable way,” Murray added.
SportTechie Takeaway
Although Murray has invested elsewhere, Deuce marks the first time he has invested in a tennis-based startup. Two of Murray’s more recent investments came via the crowdfunding platform Seedrs. The first, GoodBox, helps charities move away from accepting cash donations and toward using debit cards. The second is called ZoomDoc, an on-demand health tech company that aids in the process of booking a doctor at any location in one hour, something that is similar to the premise of Deuce.
