- World-renowned tennis tournament Wimbledon has unveiled a data-inspired Ethereum NFT collection known as The Exposition
- The collection features the tournament’s former giant Andy Murray and brings together data science, virtual collectibles and sport
- The collection’s sale went live on July 8 at $147 per collectible, with 160 NFTs already minted at the time of writing
The world-famous Wimbledon tennis tournament has unveiled a data-inspired Ethereum NFT collection known as The Exposition. The collection features the tournament’s former giant Andy Murray’s 18-year career by employing data science, virtual collectibles and sport. The Exposition’s sale went live on July 8 at $147 per collectible and 160 NFTs have already been minted as of the time of writing according to data from NFT marketplace manifold.xyz.
A Color Burst NFT for Visual Expression
Created in conjunction with digital artist Refik Anadol, the project also integrates motion capture, audio and a bunch of other inputs to enhance its uniqueness.
Excited to be partnering with @Wimbledon and @refikanadol Studio on a data-inspired digital art project involving every match I’ve ever played at Wimbledon.
More details on the drop page: https://t.co/QrbY9AmBBm pic.twitter.com/VFdMzd6HvU
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) July 7, 2023
The collection’s page on manifold.xyz features a color burst enclosed in a glass cube, which Wimbledon considers to be an algorithm-based visual expression of Murray’s career capturing everything from drama to victories.
Wimbledon further noted that the color burst adds to the “visual ways” of enjoying visual data. Although the collection doesn’t currently offer extra perks to collectors, Wimbledon promised to offer collectors such opportunities in the future. Part of the future perks include allowing holders to purchase “a physical print edition of the artwork, […] to blend the digital and physical worlds.”
Tennis Joins Football and Basketball in Web3
The Exposition isn’t the first NFT collection to feature the tennis champion. In 2021, Murray was the center of an NFT project created by WENEW, a company linked to NFT artist Beeple.
Wimbledon’s move coincides with a growing trend in the sports industry where clubs, individual sportsmen and sport-centered entities are joining the web3 space through digital collections. Popular sports clubs and sportsmen involved with NFT projects include Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Barcelona, Manchester United and LeBron James.
With the Wimbledon NFT project introducing a new way to consume sports data, it’s yet to be seen whether tennis enthusiasts will embrace the collection.
