Tennibot ft. Haitham Eletrabi

Summary

Haitham Eletrabi, founder and CEO of Tennibot, discusses his autonomous ball-retrieval robot designed to eliminate the most tedious part of tennis practice: picking up balls. Eletrabi, who holds a PhD in civil engineering and an MBA from Auburn University, built the product out of personal frustration with time wasted collecting balls during serve practice and ball machine sessions. The Tennibot operates like a “Roomba for tennis,” autonomously navigating the court, collecting balls, and returning them to the player or coach via a removable net bag. Priced at $2,200, the device targets both B2B (clubs, academies, resorts, coaches) and B2C (serious recreational players) markets. At the time of recording (May 2023), Tennibot had significant backlog demand and was working toward shipping new orders by late summer 2023.

Guest Background

Haitham Eletrabi is originally from Cairo, Egypt. He came to the US in 2009 to attend Auburn University, where he earned a PhD in civil engineering and an MBA concurrently. He fell in love with tennis through his family, then became deeply involved in the Auburn tennis community as a player, volunteer, and board member. He founded Tennibot after being unable to find any autonomous ball-retrieval solution on the market.

Key Topics

1. Product Design and Functionality

• Autonomous robot that navigates the court and picks up tennis balls without player intervention.
• Controlled via smartphone app; user selects pickup area and lets it run.
• “Return home” feature: picks up a user-defined number of balls (e.g., 60 or 80), returns to the player, user empties the removable magnetic net bag into a hopper or ball machine, and it goes back out — all without touching the phone.
• Weighs under 30 pounds empty, approximately 35 pounds full. Portable — fits in a Honda Civic trunk, rolls like a wheeled suitcase.
• Ships pre-assembled; 2-3 minute setup time once learned. Charges via laptop-style charger.

2. Surface Compatibility and Engineering

• Works on hard courts and clay courts. Grass court testing had not been completed (no grass courts within 300 miles of Auburn).
• Clay compatibility was an intentional design priority from day one. No suction mechanisms or components vulnerable to debris/clay clogging.
• Electronics housed in an isolated, sealed compartment. Can handle light rain during court-to-car transit.
• Ball pickup mechanism uses systems similar to ball machines rather than suction, keeping it simple and reliable.

3. Business Model and Pricing

• Retail price: $2,200 per unit.
• Includes “white glove” customer service: rapid response times, loaner units if hardware issues arise, option to keep the loaner or receive a new unit.
• B2B customers (clubs, academies, resorts): use Tennibot as a rental add-on, a free amenity to increase court-time value, or a differentiator for membership. Some clubs charge per-session rental fees, creating a new revenue stream.
• B2C customers: individual players who practice 2+ times per week, serve practitioners, ball machine users.
• No affiliate or discount programs at time of recording — demand exceeded supply. Plans to introduce these once production catches up.

4. Training Efficiency Gains

• Eletrabi estimates players lose 25+ minutes per hour to ball pickup during ball machine or serve practice sessions.
• Coaches reported bumping lesson rates after adding Tennibot, with minimal pushback from parents who recognized the increased instructional time.
• Coaches gain 10-15 extra minutes of instruction per hour — time previously spent on ball collection.
• Removes the need for parents to serve as ball retrievers during junior lessons (a common practice Lisa Stone confirms from personal experience).

5. Software and Over-the-Air Updates

• Continuous improvement via OTA firmware updates — users get better ball recognition, handling of varied lighting, wet/dead ball detection, and surface adaptability without buying new hardware.
• App UX improvements ongoing based on real user feedback.

6. Coaching and Player Development Applications

• Coaches use Tennibot as a motivational tool for juniors: “Hit 5 inside-out forehands on the cone and you get to drive the robot for 5 minutes.”
• Enables continuous drill flow — no basket-empty interruptions. Coach and player stay in the coaching conversation rather than the collection chore.
• Allows practice breaks to be used for tactical discussion, hydration, and reflection rather than ball retrieval.

INTENNSE Relevance

Charles notes that INTENNSE will not have any ball bots in arena! too much technology in the wrong place

• Assembly Studios facility integration: An autonomous ball-retrieval system is a natural fit for INTENNSE’s planned venue. Tennibot (or its successors) could be deployed across training courts to maximize coaching efficiency and create a visibly tech-forward facility experience. The “Roomba for tennis” positioning aligns with INTENNSE’s brand as an innovation-led league.
• Training automation and court operations: Eliminating ball pickup from court programming directly increases the density of drills, instruction, and match simulation that can be scheduled per court hour. For a league operating on tight venue scheduling, this is an operational multiplier.
• Revenue model precedent: Tennibot’s B2B model — clubs charging rental fees or bundling with ball machine access — demonstrates how facility technology can create incremental revenue streams. INTENNSE could offer autonomous ball retrieval as a premium training add-on or include it in membership/training packages at Assembly Studios.
• Player experience differentiation: The device removes a friction point that frustrates players at all levels. For INTENNSE’s player development pipeline, ensuring that every minute on court is productive reinforces the league’s value proposition to athletes and families.
• Surface compatibility for venue planning: Tennibot’s engineering for clay compatibility (sealed electronics, no suction) is relevant if Assembly Studios includes clay courts. The technology is surface-agnostic by design.
• OTA update model: Tennibot’s approach of shipping hardware and continuously improving via software updates mirrors the infrastructure-over-tools thesis INTENNSE tracks in sportstech. The robot gets better without replacement — a model worth watching as the company matures.
• Competitive landscape: Tennibot sits alongside SwingVision, PlaySight, and other court-level technology companies in the tennis facility tech ecosystem. Understanding Tennibot’s trajectory helps map the full stack of technologies that could be integrated into an INTENNSE venue.