Boomer The Tennis Robot - The Ultimate Tennis Ball Machine

Meet "Boomer"- the toughest opponent you'd ever want to play. While other tennis ball machines can feed the ball, vary its speed, spin and placement, or even offer the user the option of entering a programmed sequence of shots, Boomer is the first tennis ball machine that allows the user to actually play against it. Boomer can serve, return, play out a point, call the lines and the score, rate the quality of your shots - even talk trash - and can do it any level of ability, from rank beginner to world champion.

Boomer game mode

Utilizing a computer and a television camera, Boomer can see, think, talk and interact to give a player the feel of live play. The player sets the desired level of difficulty. Boomer watches each shot the player hits and, if the ball is in, replies with a realistic (and more or less random) return. If you hit a very good shot, you can win the point outright, or at least get a weak return. If you hit a weak shot, get ready to run because Boomer will likely hit a strong return back. Even a very weak shot can occasionally win the point because Boomer will sometimes hit one in the net for an unforced error. If the ball is out, Boomer says so, then says the score and serves up the next ball to start play. If the player is serving, Boomer tosses the player 1 or 2 balls and directs him or her to which court to serve to. The player can play anywhere from one point to a tiebreaker to a full 2 out of 3 set match.

Boomer drill mode

Boomer offers a variety of drills: groundstroke, volley, overhead, net, approach, serve and volley. All drills can be done at any selected level, from 2.0 to 7.0. After each drill, Boomer gives a score from 1 to 9 based on the average depth and width of the player's shots. Boomer is also capable of being customized to offer specific drills.

Boomer rating test

The ratings test gives the user 12 balls to serve, 24 groundstrokes, 24 volleys and net shots and plays 4 games (each at an increasing level). It then gives the user a rating on each component, as well as an overall rating.