Toni Ulčar and Roger Federer, from the original Sportbot archive photograph. Sportbot archive · AI-restored.
An Italian tennis coach who had followed Sportbot early in its development helped connect founder Toni Ulčar with Roger Federer. In Toni’s account, the opportunity began with a call about a court booking at Verdura Resort in Sicily and led to a flight to discuss the moving ball machine.
The photograph of Toni and Roger captures the two standing together. The story of how the introduction happened comes from Toni himself, who has recounted it in television and founder interviews.
A connection through tennis
Toni describes the coach as an early supporter of the project who had followed Sportbot on Instagram.
In the founder interview, Toni explains that the coach worked at a resort in Sicily and called when Roger Federer had booked its courts. That resort was Verdura Resort, near Sciacca on the island’s southern coast.
The introduction came through someone who knew both the tennis setting and the project Toni was building. For a founder developing a training machine, that connection opened the possibility of discussing the idea with one of the sport’s best-known players.
Taking the trip to Sicily
In his television account, Toni describes booking a plane ticket, travelling to Sicily and speaking with Roger about the machine.
Image: Verdura Resort / Rocco Forte Hotels, via Golfmotion.
The machine was the reason for the trip. Toni had been developing a way to make independent practice feel closer to a tennis exchange, and this was a chance to explain that idea in person.
The training idea Toni had been building
The project behind the trip began with Toni’s own tennis practice. During the 2020 lockdown, the engineer and tennis player started developing a machine to help him practise independently.
He wanted to explore a feeder that could change its position on court and create different ball-delivery situations. That moving-machine idea became Sportbot, built in Slovenia for tennis and, later, padel training.
The story behind Sportbot introduces that starting point. The tennis and padel machine story follows the project’s broader direction, and the Mesto Akrobatov profile adds more founder and development background.
Watch Toni tell the story
Watch Toni recount how the introduction happened. His account also appears towards the end of the RTV Slovenija sports feature.
For a separate player demonstration, read about Goran Ivanišević trying Sportbot at ATP Umag. To explore the machine itself, visit Sportbot for tennis or Sportbot for padel.
Find more event reports and founder stories in Sportbot News.
