The Pongbot Pace S Pro brings AI to the practice court

When you’re practicing, nothing beats training with a good partner. You get real-time feedback on the effectiveness of your shots and varied ball response that help develop court coverage and anticipation. Simulating match conditions improves point construction, strategy and mental focus to prepare for the rigors of actual competition. Throw in some trash-talk and a post-workout beverage and there’s just no replacement for hitting the courts with a fellow traveler.

The Pongbot Pace S Pro ball machine wants to put that notion to the test.

At first glance, the robot gives off a Stars Wars droid vibe. Not including its detachable ball hopper/cover, it has a modest footprint of roughly 19x17x13 inches and weighs a sturdy 45+ pounds. Metal grab handles on the bottom of both sides aid in lifting and carrying the machine in and out of a car trunk, but the process can be a bit awkward. Fortunately, it has a telescopic pull handle and luggage wheels that help transport it to and from the court.

It comes with a portable, rechargeable battery that offers up to eight hours of power. A small control panel on the side of the machine has an on/off switch, quick start/stop button and a USB port to charge to charge a smartphone or other devices. A robot remote control—which syncs with the accompanying app—operates the machine and has access to its full complement of features. Three smart trackers are used when engaging the AI capabilities. The remote and trackers can be recharged by the included 4-in-1 charging cable.

Once the Pongbot is in place and ammo is in its 150-ball capacity hopper, it’s ready to fire away. The machine can be operated by the portable remote, or the smartphone app which connects via Bluetooth. I found the app the more appealing option; it has a much bigger screen, easier access to the features and was less finicky with connectivity. However, it is rather comprehensive and requires a bit of learning curve.

There are 564 programmed drills that range from basic repeating ground strokes in a single location, to full-court, complex multi-shot combinations reflecting the user’s skill level. The machine can be placed at six different spots on the court to vary the feeding angles and possibilities. Balls quietly reach up to 80 MPH and 3600 RPMs, shot at a multitude of heights and locations. Feeds are as accurate and consistent as a Sinner backhand, jams are scarce—the only one I incurred was actually a false alarm—and balls are rarely leftover when the machine thinks it’s empty. The drills can be run for time or rounds.

While the built-in offerings are more than enough to keep you busy, custom drills take it to another level. This feature allows users to chalkboard their own drills up to 46 balls in a single sequence. You can plot the speed, spin, height, location and depth of every feed, or use preset shots from an extensive list broken down by shot type. If one of the shots needs tinkering in terms of timing or coordinates, editing is painless. I created a 9-ball drill—four groundies, an approach, two volleys and two overheads—that was textbook practice and a better workout.

The machine actually recognizes and follows the player’s court location in real time.

Homemade drills like mine can also be uploaded to the expanding Pongbot app drill library for other users to download and demo. Use any as is, or copy them to your personal library and make alterations to satisfy your needs. It’s another deep reservoir of training options, and can open your eyes to some of the machine’s tricks you may overlook.

While personalized drill design is top-notch, it’s featured in many competing ball machines. What makes the Pongbot unique is its AI functionality. By clipping the three Tic-Tac package-sized trackers to three specific locations—one on the net over each doubles alley and one to the player—the machine actually recognizes and follows the player’s court location in real time. This opens up a suite of “Smart Pace” activities that turns practice from following sheet music into a freestyle jam session.

For instance, in the adaptive rally setting, the robot will feed balls to wherever the user is currently standing on the court. Go from corner to corner or from the baseline to net and once you’re stationary and set, the machine will feed a ball of appropriate speed and depth. A somewhat vague slider (1-to-3 stars) adjusts the difficulty level. It’s a fun way to warm-up with some hitting before more intense movement.

In the recovery trigger exercises, the machine only shoots feeds after the player returns to the designated recovery zone. A classic setup is moving out wide to hit ground strokes and having to return to the center mark in the middle of the baseline. The faster you recover, the faster the machine will spit out another feed. Stop to watch your handiwork or catch your breath, and so will Pongbot. More complex combinations require more complex recovery steps.

The most ingenious and diverting option is the match challenge mode. The robot essentially mimics point play by feeding a sequence of shots based on a player’s court positioning, movement and chosen difficulty level. No set patterns or rally length, just intuitive mayhem. The robot can be set to beep each time the feeds change the training discipline—from ground stroke to approach shot, for example—and double-beep when the point is over, so you know to go back to the baseline for the next point. A running score is kept to see how many points (dubbed “combos”) you win over a set period. It’s a total time suck.

While the built-in offerings are more than enough to keep you busy, custom drills take it to another level.

Overall, the AI component is definitely a value add, although it could probably use some refinement. There were several instances when the machine’s player location detection during rallies or recovery was spotty. It would shoot balls to errant spots or not recognize a proper recovery. During match mode the shot sequencing didn’t always jibe—sometimes a lob would go up even though I just hit a ground stroke on the baseline. (From a purely practical standpoint, it would also be helpful if the robot had a compartment or included pouch to house all the trackers when not in use.)

These quibble asides, there’s so much to like about the Pongbot. Its precise ball delivery, customizable shot settings and intelligent app create an endless array of effective and immersive training options. While its burgeoning AI capabilities bridges the gap between solo practice and live competition. Perhaps no machine can fully capture the benefits and challenge of a real opponent, but the Pace S Pro isn’t far behind.