TENNIS NUTRITION TIPS

The match is tied, and you're playing match point in the tiebreaker of the third and final set. Every game has been long, each point hard-fought. The sun is straight overhead and relentless. You're thrashed and thirsty. The groove you were in early on has long since eroded. You're just trying to survive.

We've all been at this point in a match, pushing the limits, trying to muster just enough of an edge to close it out. It may surprise you, but everything else being equal, it's the player who uses sports nutrition to his or her advantage that wins this match!

Being your best on the court requires a combination of physical and mental toughness. You rely on your speed, agility, quickness, reaction times, and strength, as well as the ability to anticipate, track, and make splitsecond tactical decisions. When your game is on, you can pull off that cross-court winner. But some days you're a step too slow, you're just not seeing the ball, shots go long, and the calls don't go your way. What makes the difference? One important factor is sports nutrition.

The longest recorded professional tennis match was played during the 2004 French Open, and lasted a hefty 6 hours and 33 minutes! Fortunately, most tennis matches don't run quite as long but competing for periods of 1-2 hours or more is common and exacts a physical toll. Two hours of tennis on the hardcourt, in the face of often scorching on-court temperatures, puts a serious squeeze on muscle fuel stores. Drenching sweat rapidly drains fluid and sodium levels. With fuel reserves tapped and dehydration taking hold, you start missing winners and big returns don't materialize. That zone you were in during the first set gradually gets replaced by a gnawing fatigue. That's when you can't quite get to that drop shot, or catch up to the lob that just sailed over your head landing in.

Adding to the physical challenge is tournament tennis, where players may have to play both a singles and doubles match each day with multiple rounds to get to the finals. Muscle fuel and hydration levels may be up to the task for a single match, but the daily tournament grind challenges your ability to recover between matches.

In between tournaments, elite players may put in anywhere from 20-40 hours a week training. The majority of this time is spent on the court, but players often supplement their practices with conditioning work such as running, resistance training, and agility drills. Nutrition plays a vital role in maximizing the benefits of all this training.

Meeting the demands of competitive tennis requires a comprehensive performance nutrition strategy. How you prepare nutritionally prior to a match or practice, how you refuel and rehydrate during play, and what you do afterwards to speed recovery can dramatically impact your performance on the court.