TENNIS: Sabalenka unhappy with Australian Open ban on wearable fitness trackers

MELBOURNE — Aryna Sabalenka has urged the Australian Open to reconsider its policy banning wrist-worn fitness trackers, after several players were asked to remove the devices before entering the court.

Sabalenka, along with top players such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, has been seen wearing a Whoop fitness tracker. The device is approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is commonly used in other tournaments.

However, the Grand Slam organizers have not cleared the use of these wearable trackers, even though they are allowed at most events on the men’s and women’s tours.

“The reason why I was wearing that on court is because we received an email saying we got approval from the ITF to wear this device,” Sabalenka told reporters on Tuesday.

“Throughout the year, in WTA tournaments and all the tournaments I play, we wear Whoop. It’s just for tracking my health,” she added.

Sabalenka expressed confusion over the Grand Slams’ stance on the issue.

“I don’t understand why Grand Slams have not allowed us to wear it. I really hope that they will reconsider the decision and let players monitor their health,” she said.

Tennis Australia confirmed that the issue is being discussed.

“Wearables are currently not permitted at Grand Slams,” the governing body told Reuters. “The Australian Open is involved in ongoing discussions on how this situation could change.”

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was asked to remove his tracker, which he was wearing under his sweatband, before his fourth-round match against Tommy Paul. Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou criticized the rule, saying tennis risks falling behind other sports.

“If the rule doesn’t allow players to monitor their body performance during competition, then tennis is once again last in the class,” Mouratoglou said. “What Carlos and his team were intending to do was just being professional.”

Defending champion Jannik Sinner also shared that his team wanted to use the tracker to collect performance data to improve training sessions. He was asked to remove the device before his fourth-round match against Luciano Darderi.

“The umpire asked me straight away if this is the tracker,” Sinner said. “I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Remove.’”

Sinner added that while other options like a vest could be used, they were uncomfortable.

“It’s fine. There are other things we could use, like the vest, but it’s a bit uncomfortable for me. You feel like you have something on the shoulders,” he said.

“But rules are rules. I understand. I won’t use it again.”

Whoop CEO Will Ahmed argued that the devices do not pose any safety risk and called it “crazy” to deny athletes access to their health data.

“We will fight this so athletes can have the data they need,” he wrote on X. -Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters