Tennis Australia has transformed the world's best players into animated versions of themselves to bypass broadcast restrictions at the Australian Open.

If you’re tuning into the 2025 Australian Open, you may notice something very, very weird about the players on the court if you’re watching matches on YouTube. They look like they’re straight out of a video game, like Wii Tennis. The players’ bodies and faces have been replaced with Miis, basically. What gives?

So, apparently, is watching the actual action on a TV, laptop or phone. The Australian Open is getting in on the newest trend in the sports world by re-creating tennis matches in video-game form. The year's first Grand Slam tournament,

The Australian Open might look a little different this year if you’re livestreaming it on YouTube. That’s because the tournament has put an animated overlay on some of its matches to avoid broadcast licensing conflicts,