"A tennis match usually starts with rituals you can set your watch by. A towel tug, a ball bounce, a glance at the strings. This year, a different ritual stole the first spotlight, because officials asked top players to take off a wrist wearable before they played, and the moment landed like a plot twist you did not order. This piece walks you through what happened, why it happened, and what it says about where tennis sits with athlete data right now."
"The wristband moment that turned into a headline Officials told several stars to remove their WHOOP devices during the tournament, including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka. Coverage described the devices as wrist trackers players use for biometrics like sleep, stress, and recovery, and it framed the issue as a Grand Slam policy gap rather than a sudden player rebellion."
"The Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha runs 16 to 21 February 2026, and it lands at that point in the season when everyone still carries fresh memories from Melbourne into the first proper hard court grind of the year. You see the favourites arrive with reputations already priced in, especially Alcaraz and Sinner, because the tour itself has started to frame their rivalry as the leading story in men's tennis."
"As tournaments shift from Melbourne to Doha, attention turns not only to rivalries but also to how markets price player form. Odds comparison platforms track how fatigue, injury speculation, and surface transitions influence match lines across regulated UK bookmakers. Readers following price movement often use comparison sites to monitor value and available offers, including resources that outline promotions such as the Bet365 bonus code in the UK, alongside broader betting market analysis."
Tournament officials asked top players to remove WHOOP wrist devices before matches, affecting stars including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka. The wrist trackers monitor biometrics such as sleep, stress, and recovery, and they are used to manage training and readiness. Observers framed the removal as reflecting a Grand Slam policy gap on wearable devices and athlete data rather than as a player rebellion. The timing overlapped with the Feb 16–21, 2026 Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha during the early hard-court season. Odds comparison platforms tracked how fatigue, injury speculation, and surface transitions influenced pricing and promotions across regulated UK bookmakers.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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