How tennis stars forced a rule change and won a fight to access their health data

Tennis players well be permitted to wear fitness trackers at grand slam tournaments for the first time after the French Open announced a trial on connected devices and wearable technology. It comes after an argument over wearable devices such as Whoop fitness trackers erupted at the Australian Open in January. Star players such as Aryna Sabalenka , Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner made headlines after they were ordered to remove them before matches .

Although wearables had been approved by The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was on its list of permitted devices, with those devices also allowed on the ATP and WTA Tours, the grand slam tournaments had operated on a different set of guidelines . Tennis Australia, the organiser of the Australian Open, had confirmed that wearable wrist technology was not permitted at the grand slams – although it said the tournament was “in discussions” over allowing such devices in the future. Now, following criticism of the rule from the World No 1 Sabalenka, the French Open has become the first of the four grand slam tournaments to allow the technology, following an announcement from tournament director Amelie Mauresmo at a press conference on Thursday.

The French Open said wearables will be permitted on a “trial basis” that will extend to Wimbledon and the US Open later this year and allow players to have access to their data during the sport’s biggest tournaments. “The use of connected devices – which provide players with a wealth of information – will be permitted for the first time at a grand slam,” Mauresmo said. “Once again, the aim is to improve players’ performance.

” According to a description of the product, the data the Whoop tracker provides includes heart rate, heart rate variability, recovery, activity strain, blood oxygenation, skin temperature, respiratory rate and blood pressure, as well as sleep performance. In a video published by the WTA , Sabalenka, who is a Whoop ambassador, explained that the band monitored her stress levels between matches and the data advised her to take days off after it found she was in the “red zone”. Masters champion Rory McIlroy is an investor in Whoop and the company published some of his statistics following his triumph at Augusta on Sunday, including his heart rate and recovery score data.