MELBOURNE – The Australian Open did not allow Carlos Alcaraz to wear a Whoop band, a fitness-tracking device approved by the ITF and ATP.
“Ridiculous! Whoop is approved by the ITF for in-match use and poses no safety risk. Let athletes measure their bodies. Data isn’t steroids!” wrote the company’s CEO, Will Ahmed, on social media.
Just minutes before the start of his fourth-round match, chair umpire Marija Cicak prohibited the world No. 1 from playing with the band under his wristband.
The Spaniard accepted the decision. “These are the tournament’s rules, the ATP’s, the ITF’s… You can’t play with it. It’s something that helps you take better care of yourself, to monitor your recovery, your training load… but well, I haven’t been able to use it in matches, it’s fine. You take it off and keep going,” he told reporters after reaching the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
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The statement by the current Roland Garros and US Open champion contains a small inaccuracy. The ATP and ITF include the Whoop band on their list of approved technological devices for use during matches, meaning the ban came exclusively from the Australian Open organizers.
“Currently, the use of wearable devices is not permitted at Grand Slam tournaments. The Australian Open is engaged in ongoing discussions about how this situation could change. Some of these devices provide athletes with an indication of internal load (metrics such as heart rate), giving them a more complete understanding of the work they are doing and how their bodies respond,” a Tennis Australia spokesperson told CLAY.
The tournament organizers also clarified that, although such devices are prohibited, players can still access detailed data through mechanisms provided by the event itself: “In terms of other data available to athletes and their teams during the Australian Open, players can monitor key external load measures such as distance covered, changes of direction, high acceleration events, and the speed or spin of shots via the Bolt 6 system.”
Aryna Sabalenka faced the same issue in her opening match in Melbourne and had to remove the band before the start of play. Cristiano Ronaldo and Rory McIlroy are among other elite athletes who endorse the use of the device.
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