- Whoop is an official partner of the WTA Tour
- Orreco acquires Jessica Ennis-Hill’s women’s health platform Jennis
Leading tennis players have been told not to use fitness trackers during the Australian Open Grand Slam as they have not been approved for match use by organisers.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka were all asked to remove their wearable devices during the tournament despite being cleared to use them on the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as International Tennis Federation (ITF) events.
Whoop, which is an official partner of the WTA Tour and whose devices are used by Alcaraz, labelled the decision as “ridiculous”.
“Data is not steroids!” the company’s chief executive Will Ahmed said on social media. “Whoop is approved by the [ITF] for in-match wear and poses no safety risk. Let the athletes measure their bodies.”
Meanwhile, Sabalenka said she did not understand the decision to stop her from using the Whoop device, and called on the tournament to reconsider its decision.
It is unclear why the Australian Open does not permit their use. A spokesperson for Tennis Australia said that wearables are “not permitted” at grand slams, but that the Australian Open “is involved in ongoing discussions on how this situation could change”.
Most tournaments have data partners which collect information from the court for digital, broadcast and betting purposes, with participating players given access to match insights. However, fitness trackers offer much more granular levels of personal information that players will use to inform their match preparation and fitness regimes.
Golf’s PGA Tour is another property that permits such devices, while Fifa is loosening its regulations as part of an ongoing process.
In other news, AI sports science specialist Orreco, whose innovations help athletes make sense of this information, has acquired Jessica Ennis-Hill’s Jennis women’s health and performance platform to strengthen its own ‘FitrWoman’ offering.
“Orreco has made huge advances with its data driven, and AI powered technology,” said Ennis-Hill. “I believe this is the perfect home for the work we have done to date at my start-up Jennis into the personalised impact of hormonal cycles on athletic performance.
“I am really excited about the Orreco vision and success in the elite women’s sports space. I’m delighted to join their team at this very exciting time to help open more conversations with sportswomen and teams.”
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