the founder and CEO of fitness technology company Whoop has found himself thrust into the center of a global controversy after his startup 's products became the unlikely breakout star of this year's Australian Open. It was not a typical viral moment. It happened after the top tennis players in the world across the women's and men's game, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannick Sinner, were all asked by umpires to remove their Whoop fitness devices from their wrists during the middle of their matches.
But there's also the matter of making sure one's equipment is up to snuff - and, beginning with this year's Winter Olympics, that means not having any PFAS, or "forever chemicals," in the mix. What happens if a competitor does turn out to have such chemicals in their equipment? They'll find themselves disqualified. As GearJunkie's Mary Andino reports, three skiiers have been disqualified so far due to their use of fluorocarbon wax, also known as "fluoro wax."
One poor decision is forgivable, two is careless, but there were a hat-trick of howlers, with Tammy Abraham clearly offside for Aston Villa's opener. Lucas Digne needed his own dedicated review booth, escaping with a yellow card for an agricultural tackle on Jacob Murphy and avoiding a penalty for handball. Officials ruled that Digne handled the ball outside the penalty area, an impressive feat given that he both took off and landed inside the box as he jumped to block a cross.
On a Wednesday in the desert last March, Reilly Opelka, the American with a cannon of a serve, was grinding out a tough match against French number one Arthur Rinderknech. Nearby, former US Open men's finalist Kei Nishikori beat Luca Nardi, part of the new wave of Italian talent, while Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca closed out Pavel Kotov, who reached number 50 in the world in 2024.
Djokovic was control of the match and his opponent appeared to be close to retiring from the match as he struggled with a shoulder problem in the second set. Yet Van de Zandschulp recovered and was fighting his way back into contention when Djokovic lost his composure. After his opponent missed his shot, Djokovic lashed out and smashed the ball in anger that flew past the ball kid at the net at high speed.
At Wimbledon, Sinner looked like losing to Dimitrov, flummoxed by him at two sets down, then poor old Griggzy hurt his pec and had to quit; in the last round here, he was craping at 1-1 and a break down to Elliot Spizzirri, only for the officials to call a heat break which allowed him to recover. Which is to say that, like the best sportsfolk, he has a goldfish memory, able to accept and absorb fortune, ill or good, and move on remorselessly.