Sloane Stephens was asked to take her watch off ahead of her Australian Open first-round match against Emma Raducanu. The former world No 3 had a discussion with the umpire at the net, saying she had previously been allowed to wear what appeared to look like a smart watch in other tournaments and requested that the supervisor be called to double check the rule for Grand Slams. The 2017 US Open champion then removed it following the warm-up.
Raducanu faces a tricky opponent in Stephens, in what is her first Grand Slam match since winning the US Open.
The American won the US Open out of nowhere herself back in 2017, when returning from a foot surgery that saw her ranking drop to world No 957 at the beginning of August that year.
Stephens is also a former world No 3, and was the runner-up at both the French Open and WTA Finals in 2018.
When arriving at the net for the coin toss ahead of their first-ever meeting, the current world No 67 was asked to remove a watch she was wearing, which appeared to be a smart watch or fitness band.
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The supervisor then informed the umpire at the conclusion of the warm-up that the watch was not permitted, and Stephens happily accepted the verdict, removing it before starting the match.
The American is looking to make it past the first round of the Australian Open after suffering an early defeat to 26th seed Yulia Putintseva last year.
Back in 2013, she surprised the tennis world by coming from a set-and-a-break down to defeat Serena Williams in her first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final as a 19-year-old.
It remains her best showing at the season-opening Grand Slam.
Meanwhile, Raducanu is looking for an eighth successive Grand Slam main-draw win, and 11th in a row including qualifying.
At the most recent Grand Slam – the US Open – she came through three rounds of qualifying and seven main-draw matches without dropping a set, on her way to the title.
It made her the first qualifier in history to win a Major title, and the first woman to lift the trophy on just her second appearance at Grand Slam level.
