Missed the WTA Chennai Open? You can still watch it, and play, thanks to the metaverse

Earlier this month, Chennai hosted its first-ever Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament, which was also the first WTA event in India since 2008. Part of the 2022 WTA Tour, the tournament was played on outdoor hard courts between September 12 and September 18.

In the parallel universe, NFT marketplace Yunometa launched the Women's Chennai Open in the metaverse on September 10.  The event will be live till November 10.

“If someone wanted to watch the Chennai Open but couldn’t make it, we’ve created a virtual stadium and users can pick their avatar and be a part of the tournament from wherever they are instead of depending on, say, a static TV feed. This is the way the metaverse will develop and become the future,” Arijit Mukherjee, founder and chief executive officer of Yunometa, told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.

The metaverse is opening possibilities and opportunities for people to experience anything and everything virtually, in the comfort of their own space, says Mukherjee.

The Chennai Open Metaverse also has a tennis court where visitors can choose their avatars and play a match with avatars of their favourite players.

Well-known retired professional tennis player and sports commentator Vijay Amritraj is also a part of the metaverse event.

“..the launch of the Women’s Tennis Tournament in the metaverse will open a lot of opportunities for players and the audience as they (the audience) will be able to play matches with avatars of their favourite players without spending huge amounts from their pockets,” he said.

Loot boxes packed with NFTs

The virtual space has a list of 5,000 loot boxes with over 10,000 items and immersive NFTs for users to collect and be a part of this tournament.

By simply whitelisting themselves on the dedicated site, users can gain access and try to win NFTs.

In recent times, sports NFTs have gained immense popularity and the market is expected to explode over the next decade. A recent report published by Market Decipher estimates that the sports NFT market will be worth $41.6 billion by 2032 from $2.6 billion in 2022. Sports NFT market revenue doubled in 2022.

Showcasing the magnificence of Tamil Nadu

Yunometa’s metaverse has three sections divided into a tennis court, an NFT museum on tourism and the culture of Tamil Nadu, and a virtual tour of five famous spots rooted in the State’s history.

In the virtual tour, tourists can visit these five famous places, namely: Fort St George, Meenakshi temple, Mahabalipuram temple, the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, and Santhome — St Thomas Cathedral and experience the State’s rich culture and heritage.

“While the Chennai Open is a great tournament to showcase what we can do, we found the landscape of Tamil Nadu to be enthralling,” said Mukherjee.

Yunometa, with a selection of digital art, helps monetise a digital identity with NFTs that are authentic collectibles. Artists can control various aspects of their NFTs, such as configurations, blockchain pinning, analytics, user experience, APIs, integrations, custom terms and policies, and more.