Tomljanovic takes secret weapon to hot and humid NY

Ajla Tomljanovic is used to sweating a lot given her Florida residence and preparing in New York in the peak of summer. The world No. 57 has an edge heading into the  hot and humid US Open andit's hiding under her visor.

NoSweat is a Minneapolis-based company that creates multiple-use, disposable sweat-absorbing liners that you can stick under your hat or visor.

"If you know me, you know that I sweat a lot more than the average person," Tomljanovic says. "So NoSweat works wonders because it's basically like a sticky patch that you put on the inside of your hat liner. It absorbs the sweat when you work out, which kind of is coming really in handy, especially in times like this when you don't really want to touch your face too much."

One of the COVID-19 safety guidelines is to avoid touching your face. The new normal also means fewer or no ball persons, and they are not even supposed to carry towels.

Players have had to adjust their sweat-wiping routines.

"Even before COVID and everything, my mom would always get mad at me because I had this thing where I was always touching my face with my hands," Tomljanovic says. "And sometimes there wasn't even no sweat, but it became such a habit. So now, I think she came to a couple of my practices and she actually noticed, she's like, 'I think you're doing it less.'"

Photo courtesy of NoSweat

The Australian has been sweating up a storm this summer on the practice court and in competition. She's sought out matches everywhere starting with the UTR Pro Series in West Palm Beach, Fla. then competing in Charleston, West Virginia, Lexington and "Cincinnati".

She'll open her US Open campaign against two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber.

"I think she hasn't really played much since everything got canceled," Tomljanovic says. "So it's going to be also a tough spot for her. But I'm just hoping to play close to my best. And whenever I do that, I know that my chances really go pretty high in winning."