Brief: Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz had a breakout year in 2023, reaching No. 1 in the world and winning Wimbledon. ESPN marked this with an innovative, immersive look at how he melds the best of the Big Three (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic), and what makes him the most complete 20-year-old in men’s tennis history.

Objectives: to create a robust and engaging way for fans to understand the fine details of his greatness, and to make it fun and easy to consume.

Budget: approximately $40,000.

The project was a large one-off custom experience published for the web and optimized for all screen sizes.

Brand relevance: The project reflects the brand’s commitment to serve sports fans anywhere, any time. The idea of educating fans through a deep, fun, immersive experience was the essence of the creative idea – by adding some surprises and visual delight to balance the wealth of reporting, fans would find the experience memorable. And by making the project functional at all screen sizes (from large computers to tablets to the smallest mobile phones), all fans get that same enjoyment.

Target audience: The project was released by a media company that specializes in sports journalism, so the audience is geared toward sports content. The audience demographics are broad as a result, spanning age ranges and genders. The piece is consumed on an individual basis by these media viewers, mostly on the day it launched but also in the days afterward as it still lives on the company’s website and

The experience centers around a persistent 3D tennis court, which changes color in each section and uses cutting-edge webGL motion technology to recreate iconic Alcaraz rallies in detail.

The court was purposefully made in a retro, simple way that avoids decorative textures or effects – just three colors, a sphere and some rectangles, with motion appearing throughout the scroll to create an element of surprise. Users are not required to click to trigger any of the motion in the design, as it all happens automatically as you scroll.

The design features a split-screen reading experience where written content and animation work in tandem. Typography was kept intentionally minimalistic and simple as well. The creative team also built frame-by-frame flipbooks to break down his technique, as well as a series of animating data visualizations.

Value added to brand/for consumer: For the brand, this was valuable as an example of the innovation it’s capable of providing to online fans, and also helped drive interest for the US Open tournament it was airing. For consumers, it was valuable as an educational tool for those unfamiliar with the sport and the player and presented in a way that was enjoyable to consume.

Reach/cultural impact: When it launched, the project retained fans for more than twice the normal engagement time – a sure sign that the design and storytelling approach were effective. The piece was on the main page of the website for easy access, and also featured prominently in the company’s social media content on day of launch, and shared widely on social platforms.

Brand perception/sales: By getting direct access to Alcaraz and his coach for interviews, the piece reinforced the brand’s image as a worldwide