“No pain, no gain,” Aryna Sabalenka wrote on fitness trainer Jason Stacy’s head before walking onto Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday. She then swept aside 29th seed Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to become the first woman into the Australian Open 2026 semifinals, before shifting focus to health and productivity by voicing concerns over the tournament’s Whoop fitness-monitoring debate.
“No pain, no gain,” Aryna Sabalenka wrote on fitness trainer Jason Stacy’s head before walking onto Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday. She then swept aside 29th seed Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to become the first woman into the Australian Open 2026 semifinals, before shifting focus to health and productivity by voicing concerns over the tournament’s Whoop fitness-monitoring debate.
At her post-match press conference, Aryna Sabalenka was asked about being told to remove the Whoop band at the AO. She explained why she wore it on court and addressed the confusion around its approval at Grand Slam events.
“The reason why I was wearing that on court was because we received the email that Whoop got approval from the ITF to wear this device,” she said. Sabalenka made it clear that she believed the band was permitted when she stepped onto the court.
She then admitted she was unaware that Grand Slams had not fully approved the device. “I didn’t know that Grand Slams didn’t come to a conclusion, and I don’t understand why, because the whole year we are wearing on WTA tournaments, all of the tournaments I play, we wear Whoop. It’s just for tracking my health.”
Sabalenka also expressed hope for change. “I don’t understand why Grand Slams are not allowing us to wear them and I really hope that they will reconsider the decision and let their players track their health monitor.”
(More to come…)
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Category: General Sports
