Carlos Alcaraz asked to remove fitness tracker during tennis match

January 27, 2026 — 2:09pm

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American fitness tracker company Whoop was dragged into an on-court tennis controversy this week, as Australian Open No.1 seed Carlos Alcaraz was asked by the umpire to remove the band he was wearing during a match. The call prompted criticism from tennis greats, other athletes, and Whoop founder Will Ahmed, who all argued vitals tracking was important for peak athletes.

These bands are approved by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for use in-match, but the decision is likely related to a concern over cheating. Whoop bands don’t let you receive messages, and the only way to make them vibrate on command is by setting an alarm. But the issue may be that similar-looking bands could be connected to a smartphone that allows coaches to send hidden messages to players.

What is a Whoop band?

Whoop bands are 24/7 health trackers that don’t have screens or most other smartwatch features. They use heart rate detection, skin temperature measurements, sleep tracking and blood oxygen analysis to provide insights about performance, wellness, recovery and strain.

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In short, the bands record various data points as you exercise and recover, allowing you to quantify the effect of exertion on your body, and generates advice that can inform your fitness plan.

The wearable has generated a lot of buzz and popularity among athletes over the past year, as the company introduced a more powerful band and redesigned app interface in May. That included a 14-day battery life, with the possibility of continuous use with a sold-separately slide-on battery pack, age tracking that promised to slow ageing, blood pressure insights and on-demand electrocardiogram (ECG).

The platform’s most recent update lets users upload blood test results taken by a clinician or GP, integrating biomarkers like inflammation and metabolism alongside the stress, strain, sleep and recovery data produced by the wearable.

Are they expensive?

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The short answer is yes. The longer answer depends on how much value you’ll get from the insights.

Since the majority of the appeal comes from the cloud, software and AI side of things via Whoop’s app, rather than the tracker itself, the company operates on a subscription model. You pay a yearly fee, which includes access to the hardware, and you only get insights as long as you have an active membership.

Currently, there are three tiers of membership:

Whoop One at $300 per year gets you an older Whoop 4.0 device with a five-day battery life. Features include recovery, sleep and strain scores, activity and step monitoring, VO₂ max and heart rate zones.

Whoop Peak at $400 per year includes a newer Whoop 5.0 with a 14-day battery life. Same features as above plus age insights, stress and health monitoring.

Whoop Life at $600 per year includes the latest Whoop MG device, which also lasts 14 days. It has the above features, plus ECG, irregular heart rhythm notifications and blood pressure.

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In addition to the subscriptions, Whoop also sells extras including nicer bands (from $80 to $200), batteries and clothing that can house the sensor if you don’t want it on your wrist.

What are the alternatives?

Whoop is popular with athletes because it’s purely focused on performance analysis and recovery. No other platform currently matches its level of daily actionable advice for dedicated athletes. But there are other options that do similar things for casual fitness fans.

Apple Watch. The cheapest current model is the $400 Watch SE 3, which monitors heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature and sleep. It does high, low and irregular heart rate notifications and can detect if you have a hard fall. Apple Health isn’t as comprehensive a platform as Whoop, but it can hand data to other apps, and Apple Watch does have a lot of non-exercise features. The more expensive watches, from $680, add blood oxygen and ECG.

Google Pixel and Fitbit. At $180, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is an inexpensive way to get heart, sleep and exercise tracking, including blood oxygen and high, low, irregular heart rate alerts. The Fitbit app also offers features similar to Whoop, like stress management and readiness insights. Moving to the $380 Versa 4 gets you basic smartwatch features, while the premium Pixel Watch 4 at $580 adds many more advanced insights, though some require a subscription.

Less expensive options. The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 is less than $70 and covers heart rate, steps, sleep and blood oxygen. Its app delivers a “vitality score” to track recovery. At $100, the Amazfit Band 7 promises an 18-day typical battery life and does heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep and stress tracking, with alerts for abnormal readings. At $164, Amazfit’s Helio Strap is marketed implicitly as a Whoop lookalike with similar features and no subscription. But its app is nowhere near as comprehensive.

Smart rings. If you’re not into wrist straps, you can now get miniature trackers disguised as rings to wear on your finger. Oura is the most popular brand, with its latest $570 device designed for 24/7 heart, stress, sleep and blood oxygen tracking, but its insights do require a subscription. The $600 Ultrahuman Air is very similar with comparable insights and no subscription. Ultrahuman also offers a glucose tracker that’s not yet available in Australia.

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Tim Biggs is a writer covering consumer technology, gadgets and video games.Connect via X or email.

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