Australian Open 2026: Aryna Sabalenka calls for backflip after Alcaraz and Sinner cop controversial ban

Women's World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka has called on Australian Open officials to reconsider their ban on the 'Whoop' health tracking device, after she joined Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in being blocked from using them. Sabalenka, Alcaraz and Sinner were all asked to remove their Whoop before matches at Melbourne Park, sparking controversy as to why they're banned.

A Whoop is a screen-less health monitor that is worn on a person's wrist, and tracks things like physical output and sleep. They've allowed on the ATP and WTA tours and approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) if a player gets pre-approval and follows strict guidelines.

But the Australian Open - which has separate rules to the ATP, WTA and ITA - doesn't allow them, and neither do the other grand slams. Now that on-court coaching is allowed during matches, questions have arisen as to why health monitors are still banned. The obvious concerns when coaching wasn't allowed was that the device might be able to send and receive messages, but that's a thing of the past.

Speaking after her quarter-final win over Iva Jovic, Sabalenka questioned why the Australian Open and other grand slams haven't followed the lead of the ATP, WTA and ITF in giving them the tick of approval. "The reason why I was wearing that on court is because we received an email that we got approval from the ITF to wear this device," Sabalenka revealed.

"I didn't know that the grand slams didn't come to the same conclusion. I don't understand why because the whole year we are wearing them in WTA tournaments, all the tournaments I play we wear Whoop.

"It's just for tracking my health. I don't understand why the grand slams are not allowing us to wear it and I really hope that they will reconsider the decision and let their players track their health monitor."

Tennis Australia indicates changes are coming

Players like to track their data as it helps with knowing what they need to do for recovery. Sabalenka played in oppressive heat on Tuesday, but wasn't able to track her physical output in terms of how much her body was affected.

Tellingly, Tennis Australia has flagged that changes to the rules are likely coming. "Wearables are currently not permitted at grand slams," Tennis Australia said in a statement. "The Australian Open is involved in ongoing discussions on how this situation could change."

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