Carlos Alcaraz is continuing a dominant spell at the Australian Open, having won all sets so far in the first four matches, even though Tommy Paul made things difficult for the World No. 1 in fourth round. His next rivals will be top 10 players: Alex de Miñaur on quarter-final, and potentially Alexander Zverev in the semi-final (or Learner Tien, one of the breakthroughs of the last two years).
However, he has been involved in a controversy regarding his use of a bracelet, in reality, a Whoop watch, a wearable fitness that tracks heart rate, breathing or body movements, and shares it to an app which offers coaching and training recommendations. Its use was deemd forbidden by the Australian Open and Alcaraz was asked by the umpire to remove it, and he was not the only one, Aryna Sabalenka was also asked to remove it.
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The images of the umpire asking Alcaraz to remove the bracelet, seemingly hidden behind his wrist sweatband, caused controversy, as it appeared as if he was cheating. Some outlets even framed it like that, while in reality, Whoop wearable devides are approved by the International Tennis Federation even during tournament matches.
Whoop's founder Will Ahmed took over X to compalin about the decision, claiming that it poses no safety risk: "Let the athletes measure their bodies. Data is not steroids!". It is, therefore, a decision made only by the Australian Open, but nobody seems to understand why...