How to add tennis widgets to your iPhone (Home Screen and Lock Screen)

If you follow tennis closely, you already know the problem: the season is long, matches happen across time zones, and opening an app every time you want a ranking or a live score feels like work. iPhone widgets solve that. They sit on your Home Screen or Lock Screen and surface the information you care about without a full app launch.

Courtify is built around that idea. Once you install the app and pick a favorite player, you can place widgets that show rankings, Grand Slam countdowns, live scores, and more. This guide walks through Apple's official widget flow for both the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. Courtify uses standard Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. It does not use Live Activities.

Before you start

Make sure Courtify is installed from the App Store. Open it at least once so you can finish onboarding or set a favorite player in Settings. Widgets read data cached on your device, so the app needs to run once before placed widgets have something meaningful to show.

For Lock Screen widgets, you need iOS 16 or later. Home Screen widgets have been available since iOS 14, but Lock Screen accessories (the small circular and rectangular slots around your clock) arrived with iOS 16. If your iPhone is on an older version, you can still use Home Screen widgets only.

Add a Home Screen widget

Apple's Home Screen widget flow has stayed consistent across recent iOS versions. Here is the step-by-step process, matching what Apple documents in Settings and on support.apple.com:

1. Go to your iPhone Home Screen.
2. Touch and hold an empty area of the wallpaper until the icons start to jiggle.
3. Tap the + button in the top-left corner (on some iOS versions this appears as "Add Widget").
4. In the widget gallery search field, type Courtify.
5. Browse the available sizes: small, medium, and large. Each size shows a different widget style (favorite player, rankings, live scores, tournament countdown, and others).
6. Tap Add Widget, then drag it to the position you want.
7. Tap Done in the top-right corner to exit edit mode.

You can stack widgets on top of each other if you want multiple Courtify views in the same slot. Touch and hold a widget, drag it onto another widget of the same size, and iOS will create a Smart Stack you can flip through.

To remove or rearrange a widget later, enter jiggle mode again (long-press the Home Screen), then tap the minus icon on the widget or drag it to a new spot.

Add a Lock Screen widget

Lock Screen widgets are ideal for quick glances: your favorite player's rank, a live score line, or a Grand Slam countdown without unlocking your phone. The flow is slightly different from the Home Screen because you customize the Lock Screen as its own surface.

1. Wake your iPhone and go to the Lock Screen.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until you see Customize (or swipe to a Lock Screen you want to edit and tap Customize).
3. Tap the widget area below the clock (or tap the frame around the clock on some layouts).
4. Tap the + button to open the widget picker.
5. Search for Courtify.
6. Choose a circular or rectangular accessory. Courtify offers rank badges, stats rectangles, live score lines, countdown gauges, and more.
7. Tap or drag the widget into an open slot. Lock Screen layouts have limited space, so you may need to remove an existing widget first.
8. Tap Done, then tap Set as Wallpaper Pair or Done again to save.

Lock Screen widgets use Apple's monochrome accessory style. They are designed to match the clock and notifications, not to look like full-color Home Screen cards. That is normal iOS behavior, not something specific to Courtify.

Choosing the right Courtify widgets

Not sure where to start? Most fans begin with a favorite player widget on the Home Screen (small or medium) and a rank or stats accessory on the Lock Screen. If you follow live matches during Slams, add a live scores widget and place it where you will see it during the day.

Tournament widgets (countdown, calendar, order of play) shine during Grand Slam weeks when the schedule gets dense. Rankings and standings widgets are useful year-round if you track the ATP or WTA tour.

Courtify also includes an in-app guide under Settings → How to add widgets if you prefer instructions inside the app. For Premium vs free widget access, see our FAQ.

Tips if something looks wrong

• Widget shows old data: Open Courtify and pull to refresh on the Home or Rankings tab. Widgets read cached data from your device; they do not fetch on their own.
• Live score is empty: Live widgets filter to your favorite player. If they are not playing right now, the widget will show an empty state. That is expected.
• Widget says Subscribe: Some Courtify widgets require Premium. Favorite player and Lock Screen Rank + Stats are free. Other styles need an active subscription or referral unlock.
• Cannot find Courtify in search: Confirm the app is installed, then reboot your iPhone. The widget extension registers on first launch.

Why widgets beat checking apps

Widgets reward habit. You stop treating tennis updates as a task and start treating them as ambient context, the same way you glance at weather or calendar events. For a deeper take on why sports fans have shifted to this model, read Why sports fans live on iPhone widgets now.

FAQ

Do Courtify widgets work on iPad?

Courtify is designed for iPhone. iPad may install the app, but widget layouts and the product experience are optimized for phone-sized screens and Lock Screen accessories.

Do widgets use a lot of battery?

Widgets refresh on a system-managed timeline. Courtify widgets read locally cached data rather than polling live scores every minute, which keeps battery impact modest compared with leaving a streaming app open.

Can I use Live Activities for live scores?

No. Courtify does not offer Live Activities. Live match information appears in Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets instead.

How many Courtify widgets can I add?

iOS does not cap Courtify specifically, but each Lock Screen layout has a fixed number of accessory slots, and Home Screen space is finite. Most fans use two to four Courtify widgets across both surfaces.

Can I customize widget colors?

Yes, inside Courtify. Open the Widgets tab in the app, tap a card, and use Customize to change colors, textures, and (for favorite player widgets) your chosen player. Some customization options require Premium.