Aryna Sabalenka Urges Australian Open to Allow Fitness Tracker After Being Told to Remove by Umpire

Aryna Sabalenka is into the semifinals of the Australian Open. On Tuesday (January 27), the Belarusian registered a 6-3, 6-0 win over Iva Jovic in the last eight, securing her 10th straight-set win this year.

At the press conference after the match, Sabalenka was asked about the Whoop fitness tracker that she, as well as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, were asked to remove by the umpire while competing. The screenless band provides data about sleep cycles, strain, respiratory rate, and stress, among other things.

If I was using it on the court, it’s because we received an email from the ITF with full approval to use this device. I didn’t know in Grand Slams, they hadn’t come to the same conclusion. I don’t understand why, honestly, because we have been using it all year. In all WTA tournaments, we use the WHOOP. It’s simply to track our health, so I don’t understand why the Grand Slams don’t allow us to use it. I truly hope they reconsider this decision and let their players monitor their health.

Next in the semifinals, Sabalenka will be up against Elina Svitolina, who breezed past two-time Grand Slam singles champion Coco Gauff. Sabalenka holds a 5-1 head-to-head lead over the Ukrainian, last defeating her in the semifinals of last year’s Madrid Open.

The four-time Grand Slam singles champion is chasing her career’s third singles title at Melbourne Park, first winning it in 2023 against Elena Rybakina and defending it the following season against Qinwen Zheng. But last year, she failed to complete the three-peat, losing to Madison Keys.

Aryna Sabalenka reached her 14th Grand Slam semifinal

Since making her career’s first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2021 Wimbledon, Aryna Sabalenka has gone on to feature in 13 more semifinals. In Melbourne, she will be playing in her fourth consecutive semifinal. At the press conference, the 27-year-old was asked about this stat.

When I’m in a tournament, I never think about statistics, although we all stop at some point and consider the level we can reach. The truth is, it sounds truly incredible, even hard to believe. We all think about how incredible it is to achieve things like this, but what really helps me is staying in the fight all the time, never changing this approach, focusing solely on things within my control and those I can be certain of. This is what has led me to this level of consistency.

She will also be playing her eighth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal on hard court. Sabalenka is chasing her second title of the season. Before arriving in Melbourne, she defeated Marta Kostyuk in the Brisbane International final, defending her title.

Her semifinal opponent, Elina Svitolina, will be playing her career’s fourth Grand Slam semifinal, and her first since the 2023 Wimbledon. She is back as a top 10 player in the live rankings. Last year, while Sabalenka defended her US Open crown after losing the Australian Open and the French Open (lost to Coco Gauff) finals, Svitolina made two Major quarterfinals, in Melbourne and Paris.

Also read: (Video) Jelena Ostapenko Furiously Hits the Ball at her Australian Open Opponent in a Tense Moment