Timing Food Intake
How often you eat will depend on what you normally do, but under no circumstance should you go more than four hours without food.
Definitely do not skip breakfast or wake up late resulting in your first meal being at mid-day.
You can always go back to sleep during the day if you need to, but get up early and start eating (and drinking!).
Avoid all processed snacks, sports bars, breakfast bars and the like--you need REAL food before your match.
Match Day
Hydration
- Have a glass of water on waking
- Sip some water every 15 minutes
- 45 minutes before the match have 300-400ml of fluid of which some should be an isotonic sports drink
- During the match, drink at every break a mix of plain water as well as a sports drinks, which contain no more than six-percent carbohydrate solution as well as electrolytes
- Cool beverages are best
Glycogen Stores
- No matter what time your match is, you MUST have a meal even if this means getting up earlier to have time to digest it.
- Your plate should be one-half to two-thirds starchy carbohydrate.
- Avoid all saturated fats, as they will take longer to digest and may cause digestion problems when playing.
- Your protein should be as lean as possible--chicken without the skin or fish. Some of you can tolerate lean red meat. Alternatively, you may opt for a protein powder or I would recommend a whey protein amino acid isolate first thing on an empty stomach. It will be absorbed very quickly. Just wait about 20 minutes before eating anything else.
- If you do have problems digesting certain foods, especially if you're nervous about your match, then stick to cooked vegetables and not raw ones.
- 30-45 minutes before the match have a banana (or any part of one), or part of a sports bar. This is the time to have something high in sugar to give you that extra instant energy.
- During the match, nibble on a banana, raisins, sports bar, whatever works for you. It's important that you start this well before you get tired.
Remember: Never try any new foods or drinks the day before or the day of your match.
So there you have it, your 24 hour recipe for tennis match success.
Of course, if you really want to feel the full power of nutrition and feel how it can help improve your game, you need to take a serious look at your daily eating habits and not just at the day before and the day of your match.
It's easy to do and just takes a couple of weeks to become a normal part of your routine.
If you're serious about your tennis, get serious about your nutrition!