Most tennis ball machines are glorified pitching devices: they send balls over the net, but they don’t feel anything like playing against a real opponent. That’s why the Acemate Tennis Robot, which just debuted at IFA 2025 in Berlin, immediately caught my attention. It’s the first tennis robot I’ve seen that actually moves across the court, reacts to your shots, and gives you the sense of an actual rally instead of a predictable feed.
What makes Acemate stand out is its mobility and responsiveness. With four omnidirectional wheels, the robot zips around the court at speeds up to 5 meters per second, positioning itself to catch and return balls with spin, slices, lobs – you name it. It tracks the ball with dual 4K binocular cameras and responds in just 0.15 seconds, which means rallies play out with the pace and variation you’d expect against another human.
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Beyond simulating rallies, Acemate doubles as a smart coach. The amount of player data it collects during rallies (ball speed, spin, placement, even biofeedback when paired with an Apple Watch) feeds into an AI-powered companion app. I like that the app doesn’t just spit out stats. It builds heat maps, tracks your shot distribution, and then recommends personalized drills and long-term training plans. In other words, it gives you the same type of structured coaching you’d expect from a human instructor.
Acemate hasn’t forgotten the basics either. It can switch into drill mode for footwork practice or serving simulations, offering 20 programmable target zones and adjustable spin and speed. The hopper holds up to 80 balls, and the swappable battery lasts about three hours of continuous play, which should be enough for most training sessions without interruption.
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The Acemate Tennis Robot is available now for pre-order on the Acemate site starting at $2,499 for the Basic Kit, which includes one battery. The Premium Kit, priced at $2,899, adds a second battery and extended warranty coverage.
[Image credit: Andrea Smith/Techlicious]
