'I returned Jannik Sinner's serve at Wimbledon thanks to a 5G+ powered robot'

Standing on court at Wimbledon Park, racket in hand and just a stone's throw from the All England Club, I suddenly realised there was nowhere to hide.

Like plenty of people, I've spent years watching Wimbledon from the comfort of my sofa, occasionally convincing myself that returning a professional serve can't be quite as impossible as it looks on television.

I was wrong.

I had been invited by Vodafone to try its new 5G+ Serve experience, a world-first attraction that uses an AI-powered robotic arm to recreate live serves from The Championships in real time.

Using data captured from the Wimbledon broadcast feed and transmitted over Vodafone's dedicated 5G+ network slice, the machine replicates the exact speed, angle and trajectory of serves almost as soon as they leave a player's racket.

It sounds impressive on paper. Seeing it in action is something else entirely.

I'll happily admit I felt apprehensive before stepping up to the baseline.

In addition to Sinner, I'd be facing rockets from John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Serena Williams. That's 77 Grand Slam titles alone. To make clear, my own total stands at zero. For now, at least.

There's a huge difference between reading "120mph" on a statistics sheet and standing in the firing line.

The robotic arm whirred into life. A split second later, the ball exploded towards me.

The first thing that strikes you isn't necessarily the speed—it's how little time you have to think. The ball is on top of you almost instantly. By the time your brain has processed what's happening, your body is already committed to a swing.

Professional tennis players somehow do this repeatedly while also deciding where to place the return. It's nothing short of extraordinary.

Then came my moment.

At first, there were teething problems. I got my racket to a couple but couldn't smash them back. The red robot, glinting in the sunlight, almost looked as though it was smiling.

Against all expectations, I connected cleanly enough to send one of Sinner's serves back over the net.

It wasn't glamorous and it certainly wouldn't have sailed past the Italian and into the corner, but I had returned a 120mph serve from the world's best player - or at least a frighteningly accurate recreation of one.

I'll happily take that.

Another highlight nearly came moments later. A return flew off my racket and right towards where the robot was standing. Some felt it would have landed on the line. Alas, we will never know.

As satisfying as those successful returns were, the experience also left me with an even greater appreciation for what the world's best players achieve every single day.

Watching tennis on television simply doesn't prepare you for the pace. Everything happens faster than your eyes expect, while the physical force behind each serve is something cameras cannot truly capture.

The technology itself was equally impressive.

Rather than simply firing tennis balls at random, the robotic arm faithfully recreated the position, direction and characteristics of real serves as they happened on court, made possible through Vodafone's 5G+ Standalone network and dedicated network slicing technology.

It can even store famous serves from Wimbledon history, giving fans the chance to test themselves against some of the sport's greatest moments.

Former England rugby international Joe Marler also took on the challenge and admitted he had badly underestimated the task.

"I was up for the challenge – I'm not a professional tennis player, but I've got decent reactions and some padel experience, so I backed myself going in," he said.

"Safe to say, I was humbled. It's a lot harder than it looks!

"It was amazing though. Vodafone's 5G+ Serve really shows you just how fast and powerful the shots are.

"The atmosphere of live sport is incredible, and it's great that Vodafone can use its network to give people a whole new way to experience the excitement and adrenaline of the game."

He's not alone.

Vodafone's research found that 34 per cent of Britons believe they could return a professional serve with the right training, while almost one in five think they could do so without any training at all.

Among men, 43 per cent believe they could return an elite serve, with almost a quarter even backing themselves to beat a professional at Wimbledon if given enough preparation.

Having now stood opposite a machine recreating serves from tennis icons of today and yesteryear, I can confidently say those numbers may be a little optimistic.

The reflexes required are extraordinary, and the margin for error is almost non-existent.

Still, I'll always have the memory of returning one of Sinner's booming serves and possibly clipping the line with another.

For a few minutes in Wimbledon Park, thanks to one remarkable AI-powered robot, I experienced just a tiny glimpse of what the very best tennis players face every single match.

And if you fancy putting your own reactions to the test, the Vodafone 5G+ Serve experience is open to the public at Wimbledon Park on Tuesday from 11am until 7pm, with free sessions available to book on a first-come, first-served basis.