A YouTube stream of the Australian Open has gone viral for its glitches, but it's also a sign of the future of sports media.

The Australian Open's official YouTube channel 'live' option brings up a choice of ongoing matches to watch ... Why am I watching cartoon characters? Tennis Australia told BBC Sport the aim ...

The 2025 tennis season ... their 'cartoon characters' have also returned to our screens. Like last year, fans have the option of watching select matches in an animated form. MORE: Australian ...

The Australian Open has depicted their Novak Djokovic as a cartoon to hack broadcasting ... so they’re live-streaming a Wii Tennis-like version of the matches on YouTube - love this.” ...

The animated players follow all the same movements as their real-life counterparts as they travel across a cartoon-ish court ... like it was ripped during her match against Caroline Garcia.

They are the best tennis players in the world ... a player takes to the service line to start the match, the footage dissolves into the cartoon world. It’s like a reverse Wizard of Oz and ...

The tennis balls are unusually large ... But the scores are spot on. This cartoon is the Australian Open's free-to-watch version of the live action taking place at Melbourne Park.