PongBot Hits the Court at Intracoastal Sports Park Grand Opening in Sunny Isles Beach

Sunny Isles Beach has a new place to play — and PongBot was there to help break in the courts.

The City of Sunny Isles Beach officially opened Intracoastal Sports Park on September 3, welcoming the community for an evening of tennis, fitness demonstrations, music and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new facility on Collins Avenue.

Among the action on court, Florida Tennis joined Ned Azimov of Simplified Tennis for an interactive look at the PongBot Pace S Pro, giving attendees a chance to step onto the court and experience the tennis ball machine firsthand.

For Azimov, who was using the machine for the first time, one of the biggest advantages became apparent while working with a crowd of players.

“It pretty much did the whole job for me,” Azimov told Florida Tennis. “It knew where the person was, and it was just like it did the coach’s work. I was able to actually stand there and give people feedback.”

That dynamic can be particularly useful in a group environment. Rather than spending the entire session feeding balls, a coach can let the machine handle the repetitions while moving around the court, observing players and providing individual instruction.

The machine’s large ball capacity also helped keep the session moving.

“There were over 150 tennis balls in there, so there was not much interruption,” Azimov said.

For players, the appeal went beyond the group setting. The ability to head to a court alone and work through repetitions without needing a hitting partner gives ball machines an obvious place in modern tennis training.

Azimov came away impressed by the experience.

“It’s precise, it has good speeds, and it actually makes me feel like I’m hitting with a coach,” he said.

The tennis activation fit naturally into the debut of Intracoastal Sports Park, a new outdoor recreation facility featuring tennis and basketball courts, outdoor exercise equipment and a pedestrian pathway. The park was developed by Sunny Isles Beach as another place for residents to get outside and stay active.

DJ Mad Linx of Florida Tennis was also on hand, bringing music to the grand opening and catching up with Azimov after the on-court session.

For PongBot, the evening offered something more valuable than a showroom demonstration: actual players, actual courts and a steady stream of balls.

And for Sunny Isles Beach, it was a fitting first night for a new home for tennis.

DJ Mad Linx & Ned Azimov (@simplifiedtennis) Full Interview

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By Florida Tennis Assistant Editor Alex Binstok.

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