Australian Open 2026: Why were Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner asked to take off their fitness trackers?

The Australian Open says it provides some health data for players and their teams in the tournament.

“They can monitor key external load metrics such as distance traveled, direction changes, high acceleration events and shot speed/spin,” she said.

Player welfare has long been a hot topic in the tennis world, with fears some stars are reaching breaking point due to the physical and mental demands they endure during a long, intense season.

Sports scientists say tennis lags behind other sports when it comes to data analysis.

Alcaraz, who has expressed concerns that the season will be too demanding, and has been instructed by Sinner and Sabalenka to remove their equipment, appears to support that view.

Stephen Smith, founder of Kitman Labs, says tennis should collect more data from its players in training and match conditions.

He says this information should be centralized and shared across rounds for the benefit of all professionals.

“There is a huge opportunity for tennis to start to understand how technology and data can be applied to improve player wellbeing,” says Smith, whose company has supplied EFL, Prem Rugby and the NFL teams with data and analytics.

“We’ve seen this work in other sports, especially American sports like the NFL, NBA and MLB. The NFL are world leaders in this area.

“They’ve been collecting data across the demands of their games – training, games, injuries – and making rule changes based on what’s happening.”

Dr. Sica, who is also the New York Yankees baseball team physician, agrees.

“Other major sports leagues have already built thoughtful, evidence-based frameworks for wearable technology,” he said.

“Tennis should meet the same standard.”

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