Sports

A robot that can track your position on the court, serve you a range of shots, and simulate actual tennis matches has raised over $1.7 million on Kickstarter. With weeks still left in the campaign, there's plenty of time to get in on the action.

Whether we've watched athletes do it or experienced it ourselves, 'choking' in a high-stakes moment comes down to more than composure. For the first time, scientists have uncovered a set of neurons that fail to do their job when the payoff is greatest.

Populous and Oualalou + Choi have joined forces to design an extraordinary new stadium that will take the form of a huge tent. The Grand Stade Hassan II will be located in Morocco and will be the largest soccer stadium in the world.

New research found that even an old mild concussion can have long-lasting effects in otherwise healthy people. The study adds to a growing understanding of traumatic brain injury and is relevant to the evolving legal landscape around brain injuries in sports.

Using heaps of data, Google DeepMind trained a table-tennis-playing robot to take on human competitors and get better as it did so. The results were impressive and represent a leap forward in robotic speed and dexterity. It also looks really fun.

Artificial-turf sports fields may be more durable than those covered in grass, but they also get very hot during warm weather. Scientists have devised a method of cooling them – and the cities they're in – using rainwater stored beneath the turf.

The first autonomous car race will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Saturday 27 April 2024. It could be the birth a new TV sport with a fan-base of technophiles drawn by the progress of autonomous capability towards that of a human.

Electric boat-maker Arc recently made the final delivery of its limited-edition One model, and is aiming its second build at the mass market. The Arc Sport is designed to make waves, allowing boarders to get tricky in its wake.

Wilson's Airless 3D-printed basketball prototype was an off-court highlight of last year's NBA All-Star Weekend. It wasn't clear then what future the ball had, but now Wilson has launched it as a limited edition. A very expensive limited edition.

It seems the Enhanced Games are on like Donkey Kong, with multi-million dollar investments from Peter Thiel and other high-profile VCs. Performance-enhancing drugs are welcome – indeed, this could become an early preview of a transhuman Olympics.

Budget smartwatch maker Amazfit has unveiled the Helio Ring, a smart wearable that's not designed for casual fitness fanatics but is aimed at monitoring key health metrics that athletes need to maximize performance.

Polar's latest premium smart sportswatch has gone up for pre-order. The Vantage V3 features a sharp, bright AMOLED display, comes with offline maps, and packs a new sensor suite called Elixir that's more capable than any Polar wearable before it.