Nutrition for tennis : practical recommendations

Tennis is a pan-global sport that is played year-round in both hemispheres. This places notable demands on the physical and psychological preparation of players and included in these demands are nutritional and fluid requirements both of training and match- play. Thus, the purpose of this article is to review nutritional recommendations for tennis. Notably, tennis players do not excel in any particular physiological or anthropometric characteristic but are well adapted in all areas which is probably a result of the varied nature of the training demands of tennis match play. Energy expenditures of 30.9 ± 5.5 and 45.3 ± 7.3 kJ·min-1 have been reported in women and men players respectively regardless of court surface. Tennis players should follow a habitually high carbohydrate diet of between 6-10 g·kg-1·d-1 to ensure adequate glycogen stores, with women generally requiring slightly less than men. Protein intake guidelines for tennis players training at a high intensity and duration on a daily basis should be ~1.6 g·kg-1·d-1 and dietary fat intake should not exceed 2 g·kg-1·d-1. Caffeine in doses of 3 mg·kg-1 provides ergogenic benefit when taken before and/or during tennis match play. Depending on environmental conditions, sweat rates of 0.5 to and over 5 L·hr-1 and sodium losses of 0.5 - 1.8 g have been recorded in men and women players. 200 mL of fluid containing electrolytes should be consumed every change-over in mild to moderate temperatures of < 27°C but in temperatures greater than 27°C players should aim for > 400 mL. 30-60 g·hr-1 of carbohydrate should be ingested when match play exceeds 2 hours.