Jannik Sinner's brain data 'could be used by China for military projects'

China could use brainwave data from tennis star Jannik Sinner for military purposes, it has been claimed. The revelation alleges that the Chinese military could hypothetically use this information to help train an army of super soldiers.

An investigation by Hunterbrook Media, and journalist , focuses on electronic headbands from company BrainCo called FocusCalm; which are headsets used by by elite athletes to hone concentration, improve general mental performance and measure relaxation. The headband operates like headphones that record brain waves.

As well as four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, Formula One ace Charles Leclerc, members of Italy's Olympic teams and even several unnamed Manchester City players have used the technology.

The headbands are developed by FocusCalm's parent company, BrainCo, a business that was founded at Harvard before moving to China. Investigators claim the firm has received financial support from Chinese government-linked groups as well as highly sophisticated robotics companies linked to the military.

The allegation has sparked fears that data collected from world-class athletes could be hypothetically utilised to help create a wave of soldiers with the mental acuity of some of the planet's top sporting stars.

BrainCo has responded to the report claiming that the information is deleted after each use, according to Spanish newspaper 20minutos. Its privacy policy suggests that it does store user data, however.

Reports alleged that the patterns taken from the headbands may be used to study how soldiers could improve their concentration under pressure, reaction times, or mental resilience in intense military-based scenarios

The headbands in question were introduced by Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli, who confirmed at the time that this data was stored in the cloud. However, this raised questions and fears about who could access the sensitive data.

To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or tennis newsletter

Back in 2019 it was reported that data collected consisted of a "massive amount" of brain recordings. However, athletes in their prime were not the only target with university students were also used.

Sinner's camp have reportedly refused to comment on the matter.