At the US Open, Wearable Tech Is Having Its Moment

Ahead of the US Open, Taylor Fritz announced a new partnership with Oura, joining fellow American Coco Gauff as an ambassador for the company behind the increasingly popular smart ring. The Oura Ring 5 uses research-grade data and insights like sleep, travel, and cardiovascular health to aid athletes in their recovery between constant travel and court time.

Inside the Partnership

The announcement comes shortly after Oura's five-year partnership with the USTA and the US Open as its official sponsor and wearable fitness device partner. Given the amount of time players on tour spend traveling across the world, the partnership aims to increase accessibility to player health tracking and improve overall player fitness.

With rising concerns over players' health given longterm injuries suffered by the likes of Jack Draper and Holger Rune, wearable tech like Oura offers the chance the better improve and inform athlete recovery.

Allowing Wearable Tech On-Court

Oura's expansion comes after the decidion to permit health analytical devices on a trial basis at the Grand Slam level. Earlier this year at the Australian Open, several players, including Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, were asked to remove their WHOOP bands as the devices were not allowed to be worn during Grand Slams despite being approved by both the ATP and WTA tours.

Following several calls by the players to allow the wearables on Grand slam courts, Roland Garros became the first major to allow the tech on a trial basis this year. After successful trials in both Paris and London, Oura looks to build off of that success with their ambassadors at this year's US Open.

Taylor Fritz sat down with Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI to discuss more about his partnership with Oura and additional US Open prep.

Why did you decide to partner with Oura?

Wearables in tennis are obviously still relatively new, so the opportunity to understand how my body is responding during matches, training, and in everyday life is really exciting. Tennis demands a lot physically and mentally, and having that additional insight has been really valuable.

What results and performance insights have you received since you started wearing the ring?

I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary, but I’ve started paying much closer attention to the details around my performance, especially the calories I’m burning during practice, how I sleep afterward, and what my HRV looks like. Every match and practice session can affect me differently, so it’s useful to have objective information to look back on. Those insights help me understand how hard I’m working and how I’m recovering.

How does it feel to wear your ring while you play?

I was surprised by how easy it is to wear Oura Ring 5. It’s comfortable, [and] it doesn’t get in the way. I honestly don’t even notice it on my finger, which is exactly what you want from something you’re wearing during a match.

As you head into the US Open, what are you paying the closest attention to in your preparation?

We’re still a couple weeks away, but sleep is the biggest thing I’m paying attention to as I head into the US Open. It’s always been a massive metric for me, and I’m really focused on understanding how the quality of my sleep correlates with the way I’m playing.

You’ll be wearing your Oura Ring during match play at the Open. This feels like a big moment. How does that feel and why did you decide to wear it?

It's been really cool to partner with Oura and be able to collect data and insights during matches. Practice gives me useful information, but match play is a completely different environment, so it’s valuable to see how my body responds when the intensity and pressure are at their highest.

It gives me a perspective I haven’t had before. Before now, I could see what was happening during practice, but I didn’t have the same insight into how that compared with match play. Having information from both gives me a much clearer picture of my performance.

Last question: Do you have any friends on tour who could benefit from more sleep?

I’d be curious to see what Frances’ metrics would look like if he were wearing an Oura Ring.

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