Novak Djokovic found us early. We had just landed the construction that later became our patent, and we had nothing you could call a finished product. He asked to test it. Not the idea, the object.
Three prototypes, one flight to London
So we built three prototypes of the new model in a hurry. It was the most complicated thing we had made, and it had to be right the first time. When they were ready, our founder flew to London and handed them over to his team.
Australia
A few weeks later Novak used the prototypes in training in Australia, in the weeks before the Australian Open. A couple of days before the tournament started, his team told us he wanted to use them during the matches too.
He did. Every match, the whole tournament. Breakit reported it when the cameras caught the pair on the bench at a changeover. That piece and the rest of the coverage are collected on the press page.
Since then he has trained and played with the product, and we have stayed in close contact with his team.
Why the changeover matters
Tennis is the sport heat punishes most openly. A match has no clock. Five sets in Melbourne can run past four hours in direct sun, and the rest is fixed: ninety seconds at the changeover, two minutes between sets. Core temperature climbs point by point, and the body answers by sending blood to the skin to shed heat. That blood is no longer driving the legs.
You feel it as the third set that gets slower for no reason you can name.
The changeover is the only place to do anything about it. Sixty to ninety seconds, sitting down, hands free. That is exactly the moment KYLA is built for. The palms release heat faster than almost any other surface of the body, and a handle held at the right temperature keeps drawing it out for the whole rest. Not colder. Faster. How it works →
We have written before about what happens when nobody manages heat at all: Heat is becoming a safety problem in sport. Heat is a performance variable, and more of the sport should treat it as one.
What we built next
A tennis match is a hard case for any cooling tool. The product sits in the sun, on a bench, for hours. A gym session is two hours in the shade.
So we have been working with Novak's team on an accessory for his use: a case that keeps the handles cold for longer when they are exposed to heat and sun, so that a pair covers a full match, even a five-hour one. It will come later, and it started here.
What this is not
It is not a sponsorship. Novak asked to test the product, and he has used it since. We have no agreement with him and he is not paid by us. The published research on palm cooling is on our studies page, and our own numbers, with their limits, are on the methodology page.
KYLA Performance ships in October 2026 to Sweden, the EU and Norway. Reserve KYLA Performance →
