CenterCourt
Streamlining the Tennis Fan Experience: The challenge of fragmented apps and disconnected content
End-to-End Mobile App Design
Project Type
Concept Design
Project Duration
4 weeks
My Role: Sole Researcher & UX Designer
User research, Ideation, Wireframes, Prototyping, Usability Testing, User Interface, Design Library
Case Study Contents:
🚨 the problem
Although many apps claim to be the centralized hub for all things tennis, tennis fans find themselves constantly switching between three or four apps just to find the content and information they are looking for.
Users face challenges in staying up to date with their favorite players as information is scattered, hard to find, and consequently, they often miss out on the content they want to see.
✅ The Solution
An app that provides a curated feed so that favorited players are always front and center without any clutter.
Solution 01
Player Discovery and Favorites Feature
Easily explore ATP players, browse their profiles to access rankings, statistics, biographies, and photos, and gain a comprehensive understanding of each player's career.
Tailored content based on users' favorite players. Enjoy updates, match results, upcoming tournaments, and other tennis-related content specific to the favorite players, ensuring a personalized experience.
Solution 02
Live Match Updates and Notifications
Get real-time updates on favorite players' matches, including point-by-point scoring and key statistics.
Access detailed match information for upcoming and completed matches, including information on where to watch matches.
Solution 03
Centralized Media Hub
Access the dedicated Latest page and explore a wide range of media including content, news, updates, replays, highlights, and interviews from favorite players.
Easily bookmark content to save and revisit when your on-the-go.
📊 Discovery Research
To kick-start my research, I conducted surveys to understand sports fans' preferences and interests in relation to their favorite sport. I found that fans are interested in following their favorite teams and players, actively seeking updates and content on a regular basis.
Key Insights
What are sports fans actually interested in?
Fans follow their favorite teams and players, which means when they're searching for updates it's not the sport in general but team/player specific content.
How are sports fans seeking out content?
After TV, mobile apps are the second most preferred platform for sports media consumption which validates the need for a mobile app.
🔎 User Interviews
Tennis fans want to focus on their favorite players, but there are too many sources to navigate and they struggle to find what they are looking for.
After receiving insights from sports fans I spoke with avid tennis fans to gain a better understanding of their experience.
Research Method
Research Objectives
Research Questions
Key Insights
Insight #1
Users watch more than just live matches, seeking other content such as highlights, behind the scenes, and extra media.
Insight #2
Users want all info centralized in one place; no more jumping between apps.
Insight #3
The lack of organization is overwhelming.
View Affinity Map Results
🗒️ Competitive Analysis
TNNS Live
TennisTV
Tennis One
Tennis
Channel
Amidst the many apps, users struggle to find the information they want regarding their favorite players.
While analyzing the top competitors in tennis mobile apps, I found that all apps allowed users to follow their favorite players. However, none of the apps provided a way for users to customize their experience within the app to focus on content related to those players.
View Competitor Analysis
⚙️ Information Architecture & Task Flows
I prioritized features based on the need of the users and core functionality.
What makes the basis of a tennis app and how can we build upon it? To answer this I created a product roadmap. With the MVP defined, I created the Information Architecture and task flows to determine key screens for design.
View Information Architecture and Task Flows
🖍️ Wireframes
I created key screens by incorporating common design patterns from popular tennis apps.
I started with multiple Lo-Fi iterations of key screens to brainstorm different layouts.
Adapting functions from similar apps will help ensure familiarity and ease of use.
Once I created Mid-Fis, I was able to get feedback from my mentor and other designers to assess the UX before moving into Hi-fis.
Branding & Design System
Through my research I found that other apps were overwhelming in their design so I decided a simple UI and Branding would provide a better user experience. I chose the neon green (inspired by a tennis ball) with a monochromatic color palette for a clean and professional look.
Behind the name: CenterCourt
Branding
Why dark mode?
🚧 Usability Testing
Testing revealed I needed to make adjustments for a more intuitive user experience.
Favorites vs. All Toggle view
Toggle view was added to both home pages and latest pages as users indicated they would like to have the ability to easily switch between favorites and all on both pages.
Information Architecture and Navigation Bar
The taxonomy of the favorites and library page in the navigation were unclear to users and caused friction in multiple flows. Based on the content users expected to find on each page, I updated the new design to match user expectations.
Upcoming Match
Users struggled to understand how to add an upcoming match to their watchlist and set a notification. I resolved this by creating a distinct Call to Action (CTA) in the redesign, by using a grey color scheme to clearly differentiate it from the green upcoming tab, and providing visual feedback once the reminder had been set.
Live Match Indicator
Users misinterpreted the original design as a clickable button to watch matches. To resolve this, I redesigned it to look more like a status indicator to better user expectations.
View Usability Test Feedback
💡 Final Solution
💌 A note on further considerations
Feasibility
In the future, I would like to explore the feasibility of the filter function within the latest page. Although testing showed no issues, and many users expressed their delight in the unique function, implementation may pose challenges for the development team. Therefore, I would like to evaluate the value it brings to users versus the effort required to implement it, and explore further iterations if needed.
Expansion
Ideally, I would like this app to be inclusive of the entire tennis community. If I had more time, I would expand it to include the WTA Tour and women's tennis, as well as players outside the top 200. Doing so I would hope to help bring attention to lesser-known players and facilitate the growth in popularity of tennis as a sport.
