Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz forced to remove…
Tennis greats have questioned why Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka had been requested to remove their fitness watches at the Australian Open, as the company behind the machine slammed the transfer.
Eyebrows had been raised when Alcaraz was requested by umpire Marija Cicak to remove his WHOOP watch from beneath a sweatband on his proper wrist before his fourth spherical win over Tommy Paul.
As the World No. 1 went to heat up, the umpire requested him to remove the machine and Alcaraz obliged, taking the strap from his wrist.
“You’re not allowed to play with a WHOOP watch here or anything that monitors your vitals or anything else,” veteran tennis commentator Mark Petchey said.
The exchange was picked up by TV cameras, prompting a scathing response from WHOOP’s founder Will Ahmed, who hit back at solutions the technology must be banned across all elite sporting competitors.
“Whoop is approved by the International Tennis Federation for in-match wear and poses no safety risk,” Ahmed posted on X. “Let the athletes measure their bodies. Data is not steroids.”
Footage has also emerged of a second occasion of a top ranked participant being requested to take off their WHOOP.
Sabalenka, the ladies’s world No. 1, was told by an umpire to ditch the machine prior to one of her matches early on during her Australian Open marketing campaign.
Both Alcaraz and Sabalenka complied with the instruction to remove their WHOOP, but they regarded disenchanted as they sheepishly popped the gadgets in their bag.
Their reactions had been comprehensible given they missed out on key efficiency data that WHOOP gathers such as step rely, coronary heart price and physique exertion used to calculate the machine’s all important recovery rating.
Australian tennis greats Todd Woodbridge and Lleyton Hewitt said the ban on the devices didn’t make sense.
“I’m not sure what the ITF are doing well at the moment anyway,” Hewitt said on Channel 9.
“They’ve had a horror with Davis Cup and now this, and making new rules now, when you can use it on the WTA Tour, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. They worry (that) you can use it for coaching … well, we’ve got coaching,” Woodbridge said, referring to the courtside teaching pods launched in latest years.
“Why can’t you have your own data? I don’t understand those rules. it doesn’t make sense. Sometimes our rules in tennis … one rule is over here and the other one says ‘no’. Can we get our rules the same please?”
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after victory against Canada’s Victoria Mboko during their girls’s singles match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis event in Melbourne on January 25, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Tennis Australia said in a assertion: “Wearables are at the moment not permitted at Grand Slams. The Australian Open is concerned in ongoing discussions on how this state of affairs might change. Some wearables present athletes with an indication of inner load (measures like coronary heart price), which may give them a 360-degree view of the work they’re doing and how their our bodies’ reply.
“In terms of other data provided to athletes and their teams at the AO, players can monitor key external load measures such as distance covered, changes of direction, high acceleration events and speed/spin of shots via Bolt 6.”
WHOOP bands are sometimes screenless devices that monitor recovery, bodily exertion, sleep and physique motion.
Heart-rate and blook oxygen degree data may be analysed in real time through screens synched with the machine.
In a assertion offered to news.com.au, a WHOOP spokesperson said: “WHOOP believes athletes have a elementary proper to perceive their own efficiency and health – including during competitors at occasions just like the Australian Open.
“WHOOP is authorised by the International Tennis Federation for in-match put on and poses no security, equity, or aggressive risk. Blocking access to personal health data doesn’t defend sport.
“WHOOP will continue to stand with athletes and our members to defend their right to their data.”
Other fitness monitoring devices such as Garmins or Apple Watches are usually not permitted by the ITF, given they’ve a screen and can be utilized to communicated and obtain messages.
England cricket captain Ben Stokes wore a WHOOP on his wrist during the latest Ashes marketing campaign, and Australia’s Steve Smith has worn the machine on his higher arm during Test matches.
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal wore watches including luxurious Richard Mille timepieces for sponsorship causes during matches throughout a lot of his profession.
While WHOOP devices are widely used by elite athletes around the world, some competitions have banned the technology because of its skill to talk with exterior events.
Spanish media have reported Alcaraz wore the machine during the his Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 victories.
Carlos Alcaraz in motion during his fourth spherical match against Tommy Paul. REUTERS
The six-time grand slam champion is chasing his first Australian Open title — a end result that would see him full the profession grand slam of profitable all 4 slams. He is yet to drop a set.
If Alcaraz, 22, can break his Australian duck he’ll grow to be the youngest man in historical past to win a profession Grand Slam of all 4 majors.
The incident hasn’t stopped Sabalenka from cruising her method through to the quarterfinals as she goals to win a third Australian Open title.
The 27-year-old, who broke Novak Djokovic’s file for the most consecutive tiebreaks received at grand slams (20), will take on American teenager Iva Jovic in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Four of the eight gamers in the ladies’s quarterfinals are Americans, with Jovic, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Anisimova reaching the ultimate eight.
Pegula beat defending champion Madison Keys in straight units in the fourth spherical, setting up a quarterfinals conflict with Anisimova.
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