The Laykold innovation that is helping to make tennis cooler
Is heat tennis’ burning platform?
In 2022, ABC News reported that “few sports are likely to fare worse than tennis” in a warming world. The FiveThirtyEight article goes on to explain;
“The sport follows the sun 10 months of the year, and more than 80% of its tournaments are played outdoors.”
Mentioning tennis players in the same breath as marathon runners, it continues “there are no substitutions in tennis; Players spend hours on the court without team mates ready to take their place while they rest.”
The result? Tennis players are more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses than athletes in other sports.
The same article, using forecasts from five climate models predicted that the 2050 Australian Open could feel as hot as 147°Farenheit (64°Celcius).
The heat, then, is on for tennis.
The Grand Slams are heating up
An Associated Press (AP) analysis shows the average high temperatures felt during the four Grand Slams have become higher and more dangerous in recent decades reporting that; “For athletes, it can keep them from playing their best, and worse, increases the likelihood of heat-related illness.”
The findings are striking:
Between 1988 and 2022, the AP analysis showed a 5°F (almost 3°C) maximum temp rise across the 4 tournaments.
From 1988 to 1992, daily highs in the thermal comfort index passed the threshold for strong heat stress, which is 90°F (32°C) on 7% of days with Grand Slam matches.
From 2018 to 2022 that figure more than doubled to 16%.
The Australian Open is the tournament where the heat is increasing most rapidly. The average high temperatures jumped by more than 6°F (approx. 3.5°C)
Since 1988, there have been 17 times where at least 10 players at a Grand Slam tournament stopped during a match.
“Laykold Chill, a patented court temperature reduction product uses nano-technology to take the heat off players.”
The impact of heat on players
Angus Dalton, aced it when he described the challenge heat poses to players:
“Heat is famously, the invisible adversary the world’s top tennis players face at the Australian Open”
Reporting from a Thermal Ergonomics Lab used by scientists at the University of Sydney who work with Tennis Australia and on the Australian Open’s heat regulations, he felt the impact first hand.
Scientists there explained to him:
“For our organs to work optimally, we need to maintain a core temperature of 37°C give or take half a degree.
One study that monitored elite tennis players during a simulated match found that, after about two hours of play in hot conditions, their core temp jumped to 39.4°C.
The risk of heatstroke starts to increase when your core temperature rises above 40°C. Heatstroke is an acute-body-wide inflammatory reaction that can lead to multi-organ failure and death.”
The impact of increases in heat stress include:
Reduction in athletic performance
Athlete ‘time to exhaustion’ reached up to 45 minutes sooner
Reduction in VO₂ max (the maximum amount of oxygen an athlete can consume)
Extreme muscle fatigue
Slowed reaction times
Decreased ability to hit the ball
As well as the health impact on players, this can also extend to the fans in the stand and the overall event as play is suspended and viewership and revenues impacted.
How does tennis beat the heat?
Heat is not a new problem in tennis but it is an evolving one. The ATP, WTA and Grand Slam tournaments all have extreme heat policies.
These cover strategies from increased hydration, cooling strategies, extended breaks, suspension in play, player acclimatisation and sweat testing. The Australia Open’s Heat Stress Scale which was enforced at the 2023 Australian Open (where temperatures hit 36°C) measures radiant heat, air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed to determine which strategies should be employed to beat the heat.
But what about the courts?
Cooler courts
As the ambient temperature rises, so too does the temperature of the courts. Recognising the role the playing surface has on the heat of the game, Laykold scientists have invested years of R&D into optimising court temperature reduction technology.
Not satisfied with the existing IR reflective technology which is currently on the market, lead scientist Jim Tritt and his team went in search of something better. He explains;
“Our experience is that IR-reflective pigments cause the materials to heat up more slowly. As a result, we see the best results with this technology at lower temperatures or with partial cloud cover. When temperatures are very high the impact of these pigments is very low.
“So we started looking into phase change technology. We knew that phase change was a way to hack into cooling and we found some PCM technology in the form of capsules which are filled with wax.
Once the temperature hits the activation point, the wax starts melting but remains in the capsule. This creates the phase change which causes the temperature to plateau.
The capsules don’t break, and when the temperature drops, they freeze again and essentially re-charge. And what is even more brilliant about this technology is that we can use waxes that melt at different temperatures. This gives us the ability to ‘tune’ the temperature reduction to suit the conditions.”
Nano-technology could revolutionize the game
The resultant innovation is Laykold Chill, a patented court temperature reduction product which uses nano-technology to take the heat off players. The technology is new and advanced with testing ongoing but initial results are extremely promising.
Jim Tritt explains:
“Our field test conducted in full sunshine and a temperature of 29.8°C in the Gold Coast in Australia, showed a 32% reduction (7°C) in ambient-to-surface temperature when compared to a normal surface. This is a significant amount.
The new technology is being integrated into the courts at the 2024 WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in February and we are continuing to explore the capabilities of the technology in different temperature ranges, environments and colors.”
Courts could take the heat off players at all levels
As tennis’ governing bodies, tournaments, players and clubs around the world continue to battle the heat, the courts have a significant role to play in the collective solution. Although in its infancy, and one part of a bigger solution, Laykold’s latest innovation is a breath of fresh air for all levels of the game.