On a late‑August evening in Lower Manhattan, a sleek cylindrical machine sat under string lights at Pier 17, firing tennis balls with uncanny precision while a ring of LEDs pulsed in time with its “thinking.” It was the U.S. debut of LUMISTAR’s TERO—an AI tennis training robot—and the centerpiece of a pop‑up activation that turned the South Street Seaport into a temporary tennis village during the 2026 U.S. Open.
The setting: Seaport Racquet Club, Pier 17
The pop‑up lived inside the Seaport Racquet Club, a three‑week waterfront activation running from August 24 through September 13, 2026, timed to the U.S. Open. The site featured a full‑size public court, stadium seating, an 18‑foot outdoor screen for match watch parties, and a clubhouse space at Pier 17 filled with brand pop‑ups, food and drink tastings, and special events. Racquet Magazine used the same footprint to host its Issue No. 29 launch party, drawing a crowd of players, collectors, and industry guests who were already in a tennis mood.
The star of the show: TERO, an AI hitting partner
LUMISTAR’s TERO looks more like a design object than a ball machine: a smooth cylinder on wheels with a dual 4K camera system, dual motors, and what the company calls angle auto‑calibration so it always knows where the court is. On the Manhattan court, it tracked each player’s position and the ball’s trajectory, judged the quality of every return, and then adjusted speed, spin, and placement for the next shot—essentially behaving like a responsive sparring partner rather than a dumb feeder. A ring of LEDs around the body lit up to show what the AI was “doing” in real time, which made the experience feel less like drilling and more like playing against something that could read you.
Visitors could also control TERO with voice commands and a smart wristband, changing drills, spin, or target zones without walking back to the machine—a feature that stood out in a crowded, noisy pop‑up where convenience mattered. For many, the most memorable moment was simple: stepping up, saying something like “cross‑court topspin, medium,” and watching the robot instantly reconfigure and start feeding exactly that.
The night: launch party energy meets street tennis
The LUMISTAR moment landed during Racquet Magazine’s launch party at the Seaport Clubhouse, a night already packed with music, screenings, and tennis‑themed activations. Inside the clubhouse, tables held demo units and marketing materials; outside, under the glow of the waterfront, the TERO court became a magnet for onlookers who drifted over between DJ sets and watch‑party breaks.
The crowd was a mix: serious club players testing footwork drills, casual fans trying their first AI‑guided session, and tech‑curious visitors filming the LED ring and the robot’s smooth gimbal movements. Staff ran short challenges—hit ten balls to a target zone, or sustain a rally at increasing speed—then handed out cards with QR codes to preorder TERO or join a waiting list for the higher‑end TERO Pro, which was announced for shipping in September 2026 at $1,699.
Why it mattered in Manhattan
In a city where pop‑ups are common, LUMISTAR’s activation stood out because it wasn’t just a photo wall or a product table; it was a working, high‑tech training session embedded in a real tennis environment. The Seaport location amplified that: right next to U.S. Open energy, surrounded by athlete appearances, documentary screenings (including a Coco Gauff feature), and nightly match broadcasts on a giant screen.
For LUMISTAR, the Manhattan pop‑up was a strategic U.S. showcase after strong attention at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where its AI tennis and basketball systems first drew large crowds and pre‑order interest. Bringing TERO to New York during the Open let the company test the product with a dense, tennis‑obsessed audience and generate word‑of‑mouth among players, coaches, and media who could immediately feel the difference between a traditional ball machine and an adaptive AI partner.
The aftermath: from pop‑up to preorder
By the time the Seaport Racquet Club wrapped on September 13, TERO had already moved from demo curiosity to something people were willing to put money down on. Preorders for the base TERO had opened earlier in the year, with first units shipping from late May, while the TERO Pro entered preorder in spring 2026 with shipments expected in September.
In story terms, LUMISTAR’s Manhattan pop‑up reads like a turning point: the night a quiet, sculptural robot stepped into the noise of a New York tennis party and, ball after ball, convinced a skeptical crowd that AI could be a true training partner—not just a box of data, but something you could rally with under the lights by the East River.