SwingVision – Swupnil Sahai

Swupnil Sahai is the co-founder of SwingVision, which is an app that gives tennis players access to statistics, video analysis, highlights, and line calling with just a phone. 

Sahai had an interest in both tennis and technology.  He noticed that professional tennis players can get all the statistics that they could ever ask for but for everyday tennis players, the equipment is too expensive and complicated.  Sahai taught himself Apple’s Swift programming language and formed an early version of Swing for the Apple Watch which then led to his larger vision of SwingVision.  Sahai is driven by his passion for tennis, technology and wanting to make sports technology more accessible.  His original idea developed from watching professional tennis and wanted to give the same opportunities to everyday tennis players.  SwingVision describes its mission as opening up the sports experience by giving athletes professional-quality statistics, highlights, and officiating using one phone. 

SwingVision is interesting because it makes technology that was originally expensive and turns it into something accessible for anyone with an Apple phone.  Sahai demonstrates curiosity, initiative, creativity, persistence, problem-solving, adaptability, and risk-taking.  He is innovating by using artificial intelligence, computer vision, cameras, and mobile technology to analyze tennis in real time.  Swing Vision can upload videos directly to the player’s device and identify shots, track where the balls land, provide statistics, create highlights, assist with line calls.  He used techniques that track cars and pedestrians to help him discover that similar technology could track the matches. 

Sahai inspires me because his story shows that I do not have to understand every little detail before starting to develop my ideas.  Before starting SwingVision he had no experience building apps but taught himself how to code.  His story also makes me realize that by combining my different passions, I can create something great.  From Sahai I’ve learned to start with a problem you care about, combine different skills and interests, and to start small and improve.