OPPO recolourises iconic tennis images to celebrate the return of Wimbledon

OPPO’s “Courting the Colour” media event and exhibition brought new meaning to historic moments in tennis through OPPO’s billion colour technology

24 June 2021, SINGAPORE – Wimbledon’s official smartphone partner, OPPO, today celebrated the return of tennis through the launch of a new campaign, Courting the Colour. Using impeccable craftsmanship and advanced technology, OPPO, in partnership with Getty Images, reawakened the colour of old iconic photographs to retell the stories behind each, bringing the most beautiful and poignant moments to life in a way never seen before. Inspired by the belief that compassionate technology can help inspire vivid emotions, the collection highlights powerful tennis stories that still reverberate in our times today.

The collection was unveiled at both an intimate, physical workshop in London and a virtual one, during which, Kevin Cho, Managing Director of OPPO UK, together with a line-up of guests, shared excitement for the return of the tournament. The line-up included special guest from The All England Lawn Tennis Club – Mick Desmond, Commercial & Media Director; tennis legend Greg Rusedski; the voice of tennis, Andrew Cotter; and fashion icon, Caroline Issa. At the workshop, the panel unpacked themes within the collection, covering profound, pivotal moments in tennis history regarding race, gender and fashion. The workshop also exhibited the emotive collection, and a hands-on experience with OPPO’s flagship product of the year – the OPPO Find X3 Pro.

Acknowledging the most iconic historic moments in tennis
Combined with OPPO’s imaging capabilities, each image underwent a tireless process of restoration by experts at Getty Images. The Courting the Colour collection of seven images features the first African American athletes to win Wimbledon, Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, bringing new life to their relentless resilience in the face of the societal injustices of their time.

Images of Suzanne Lenglen, Helen Jacobs and Fred Perry, famed for gracing the court in style, are also featured in the collection to showcase the cultural icons and how they fought for their identity and beliefs. From changing fashion both on and off court, to shifting stereotypical depictions of female athletes, this trio blazed a trail well before their time.

Just as tennis legend Greg Rusedski said: “The return of tennis is to be celebrated, and what better way than to explore the iconic moments that have made the sport what it is today. The craftsmanship of the Courting the Colour collection made the images, some 80+ years old, seem like they were taken just yesterday, portraying them through an unseen lens and reigniting important conversations.”

Gregor Almassy, Overseas CMO for OPPO commented: “As a partner of Wimbledon for the last three years, OPPO has long been moved by the spirit of the sport and recognise that the tournaments, players, and fans have been hit hard by the pandemic. By refocusing on the essence of tennis, we hope to give fans a deeper connection to the sport, and in doing so, encourage fans around the world to play with heart – and what better place to do so than at the foundational pillar of the sport, at Wimbledon.”

Mick Desmond, AELTC Commercial and Media Director added: “As a sport, tennis has long been at the forefront of technology, using cutting edge innovation to facilitate important conversations and improve the game, which is why Wimbledon is incredibly proud to partner with leading innovator OPPO on the Courting the Colour campaign.”

The colourful pieces of art complement the recently launched OPPO Find X3 Pro, OPPO’s most state-of-the-art mobile phone with one billion colours display, which allows users to experience and see colour in a completely different way.

Famed for creating breakthrough technologies including night-mode and anti-shake software, OPPO now aims to lead camera technology towards a new era of Colour – even beyond the basics of Colour, Retain and Deviation, which improves accuracy. Even more ambitious, the Full Path Colour Management System, first implemented on the OPPO Find X3 Pro, is the industry’s first management system of full DCI-P3 wide gamut and 10-bit colour depth, from capture to storage and display. The OPPO Find X3 Pro also features customised colours that cater to the diversity of colour in people’s eyes, including the colour-blind and colour-weak users.

Courting the Colour is part of a series of activations under OPPO’s Play with Heart campaign. It is created to help bring fans closer to the sport – and, just as the photographs demonstrate – to show that by playing with heart we can overcome difficult times and advocate diversity.

This season, OPPO is committed to helping fans see tennis in a new light from building practice walls, and to encourage them to challenge their own perspectives and shoot creatively through the #ShotOnOPPO series. We want to give fans exclusive behind the scenes access by releasing special edition Wimbledon smartphone wallpapers and icons, as well as a dedicated Wimbledon news section on OPPO’s browser, and of course, the Courting the Colour campaign – , bringing colour to historic images for the very first time.

View the Courting the Colour collection and our panellist’s discussion, here.