ATP pros' Diet schedule. Please Help!!!!

ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
Please share your info if you can.
This is usual my diet schedule so far.
I play the match from 6pm to 9pm in summer, spring. And I don't eat anything after lunch(12:30-1:30)
I play the match from 3pm to 6pm in winter, fall.
And I eat lunch(12:30-1:30) light before the match.

Last week
I ate full meal right before the match.
And I couldn't run over 30% of my full speed.
I couldn't hit over 50% of my shot's accuracy.
I was stupid to eat full meal right before match.
It got me thinking..

How is the diet schedule for ATP, WTA pros.
Sometimes they play matches at 11:30am
Sometimes 3pm sometimes 6pm sometimes 9pm.
I want to know what time they eat and how much they eat.
Please share if you know their diet schedule.
Or share your own schedule.
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
I heard pros are saying "hungry. And going to eat full meal." In interview after match.
Does it mean they starve and played the match??
 
The Isomotion31

The Isomotion31

Semi-Pro
hmmmm. I usually eat until I am just full and go with light. For morning matches I go with oatmeal, peanut butter and berries with a ton of water.

if I have an afternoon game I'll have like an apple and mixed nuts or some crackers or a cliff/power bar type thing and drink plenty of water. I save my binging for post matches. I'll bring a banana or some grapes to the court and may snack between change/sets if I feel the need.
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
The Isomotion31 said:
hmmmm. I usually eat until I am just full and go with light. For morning matches I go with oatmeal, peanut butter and berries with a ton of water.

if I have an afternoon game I'll have like an apple and mixed nuts or some crackers or a cliff/power bar type thing and drink plenty of water. I save my binging for post matches. I'll bring a banana or some grapes to the court and may snack between change/sets if I feel the need.
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your diet schedule.
I couldn't run with lot of water in my stomach.
Felt like big waves in my stomach and didn't feel like I was running with one body.
It's good for you to have strong stomach.
I couldn't digest water so good.
But I can drink plenty of water while I'm playing.
 
Turbo-87

Turbo-87

G.O.A.T.
Brad Gilbert also recommends lots of water, but just realize that it could lead to lots of internal sloshing. You are always supposed to drink before you become thirsty, so hydrate before a match without overdoing it. I never like to feel full but always eat a little something before and during a match. Not eating after 1:30 and playing until 9 is just crazy stuff.
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
IA-SteveB said:
Brad Gilbert also recommends lots of water, but just realize that it could lead to lots of internal sloshing. You are always supposed to drink before you become thirsty, so hydrate before a match without overdoing it. I never like to feel full but always eat a little something before and during a match. Not eating after 1:30 and playing until 9 is just crazy stuff.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
I didn't know I have to drink water before I feel thirsty.
I need to eat some food like bananas before match...
I will keep in mind.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
teaspoon of Himalayan salt in water. Just plain water will not give you the minerals you need , as plain water flushes the minerals out.

bananas and almond butter with some raw honey mixed in is all you need all day
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
Gut4Tennis said:
teaspoon of Himalayan salt in water. Just plain water will not give you the minerals you need , as plain water flushes the minerals out.

bananas and almond butter with some raw honey mixed in is all you need all day
Click to expand...

Thanks. Didn't know about Himalayan salt in water...
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
LeeD said:
OOOOH, I shared your ignorance when it came to nutrition.
But I DO know, never play on an empty stomach. Eat only 1/2 your normal meal before matches, and eat it TWO hours before playing.
Always try to take 2 sips of liquid on changeovers. 3 is OK.
The heavy pasta meal is AFTER the match, so you load the body with carbos for the next day.
Never allow sweat to drop down your face/eyes. Wipe it off slightly, so it doesn't drip, but some moisture is there for evap cooling.
Make yourself as comfortable as you can, don't worry about people saying you act like a pro. You WANT to act like a pro, and play like a pro.
That means taking your time, and rituals. Serving rituals, return rituals.
As for what to eat, most junk food is not nearly as bad as some people would have you think. You're young, you're fit, you're strong, so you can eat half a BIG MAC before your matches. And 1/4 the fries.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Leed
Nice information.

I notice nadal always measure water bottle to know how much he drinks during the match.
There will be certain reason for that too, right?
 
L

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Every top level player I've ever seen carries a waterbottle or two, couple of towells, wipes, extra socks, quick digestable bite snack, spare tape, and a change of shirt.
That' why the big bag, not only for the 4+ rackets, but for the quicky body maintainance food.
 
Bdarb

Bdarb

Hall of Fame
ilovetennis212 said:
I didn't know I have to drink water before I feel thirsty.
Click to expand...

Super important. If you're dehydrated, basically when you find yourself thinking, "I'm feeling dehydrated, I better chug some water" it's too late. Getting way over dehydrated is easily one of the least fun things I have ever done. Get horrible cramps and throw up and such.. The worst.
 
S

Swerve

New User
I think it's somewhat similar to eating before a 5/10K race. Eat well the night before not too much meat and like a bagel or some good carbs before bed. Plus hydrate well the night before. Then eat at least two hours before your match once again some carbs and fruit and don't drink anymore water after 30 minutees before your match starts.
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
Swerve said:
I think it's somewhat similar to eating before a 5/10K race. Eat well the night before not too much meat and like a bagel or some good carbs before bed. Plus hydrate well the night before. Then eat at least two hours before your match once again some carbs and fruit and don't drink anymore water after 30 minutees before your match starts.
Click to expand...

Thank you man.
"Hydrate well the night before bed"
"Some carbs and fruits 2hrs before the match"
"Don't drink water 30ms before the match"
 
D

dominikk1985

Legend
what, nobody has made a nalbandian joke yet?:D

I would say the most important thing is to eat early enough (at least 3-4 hours before match start- do not eat directly before the match. a little energy bar or banana as a snack before the match is OK) and drink a lot of water the evening and morning before the match.

many people are already going a little dehydrated in the match, especially when a match is in the morning (since the body loses a lot of water in the night and many don't like to drink in the morning exept their cup of coffee). this is very bad and you won't be able to recover with in match drinking.
 
Turbo-87

Turbo-87

G.O.A.T.
Bdarb said:
Super important. If you're dehydrated, basically when you find yourself thinking, "I'm feeling dehydrated, I better chug some water" it's too late. Getting way over dehydrated is easily one of the least fun things I have ever done. Get horrible cramps and throw up and such.. The worst.
Click to expand...

I am with you there. I got heat stroke and was severely dehydrated once during a baseball tournament. That is the sickest I have ever been in my life. When you can't hold down water, something is seriously wrong. It is a vicious cycle of feeling ok for a little bit and then breaking out in a sweat for no reason and hurling like a drunk. IV is the only way to recover.

Since then, if it is going to be hot and humid, I always drink coconut water and take a few Thermotabs salt tablets periodically. When I was dehydrated, my main problem was not enough salt and electrolytes in my body. I was all kinds of screwed up. ;)

Coconut water is good stuff. Way better for you than Gatorade and it has many more electrolytes. A little goes a long way for those of you worried about over-drinking and "internal sloshing." It is a little expensive, but the value to your body is worth it.
 
Last edited:
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
IA-SteveB said:
I am with you there. I got heat stroke and was severely dehydrated once during a baseball tournament. That is the sickest I have ever been in my life. When you can't hold down water, something is seriously wrong. It is a vicious cycle of feeling ok for a little bit and then breaking out in a sweat for no reason and hurling like a drunk. IV is the only way to recover.

Since then, if it is going to be hot and humid, I always drink coconut water and take a few Thermotabs salt tablets periodically. When I was dehydrated, my main problem was not enough salt and electrolytes in my body. I was all kinds of screwed up. ;)

Coconut water is good stuff. Way better for you than Gatorade and it has many more electrolytes. A little goes a long way for those of you worried about over-drinking and "internal sloshing." It is a little expensive, but the value to your body is worth it.
Click to expand...







You re talking about these??
 
Bdarb

Bdarb

Hall of Fame
ilovetennis212 said:
I just bought them. I will try them this week. Thanks!
Click to expand...

teh chocolate vita coco is pretty good the plain one is discusting imo. of course when you look at it as 'fuel' and not food, it's easier to appreciate. i've heard pickle juice is really great. Alot of athletes have been using that, it's got crazy amounts of electrolytes.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
its the vinegar that is the reason pickle juice helps with cramps

just add a bit of braggs raw organic apple cider vinegar to your water. cheaper
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
Bdarb said:
teh chocolate vita coco is pretty good the plain one is discusting imo. of course when you look at it as 'fuel' and not food, it's easier to appreciate. i've heard pickle juice is really great. Alot of athletes have been using that, it's got crazy amounts of electrolytes.
Click to expand...

I've seen many top pros bring their orangish colored bottle of juice to match.
That is pickle juice maybe???
 
S

stapletonj

Hall of Fame
I got to go to Cincy midweek for the tournament and ate dinner at "Bravo's" near the motel where most of the players apparently stayed. Totally unplanned. I was sitting within 1 table at various times during dinner of Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, and Juan Martin Del Potro.

While I didn't bug them for photos, autographs, etc., I did ask the waiter what they ate. Surprisingly it was all normal regular menu stuff, nothing special at all.

but then again, it was after match, didn't have to play till the next day, and they, being professional athletes, probably burn off more calories in a day than we do in a week
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
stapletonj said:
I got to go to Cincy midweek for the tournament and ate dinner at "Bravo's" near the motel where most of the players apparently stayed. Totally unplanned. I was sitting within 1 table at various times during dinner of Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, and Juan Martin Del Potro.

While I didn't bug them for photos, autographs, etc., I did ask the waiter what they ate. Surprisingly it was all normal regular menu stuff, nothing special at all.

but then again, it was after match, didn't have to play till the next day, and they, being professional athletes, probably burn off more calories in a day than we do in a week
Click to expand...

Nice experience for ya.
Heard they eat a lot after the match..
 
HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
Most sources I have seen say that you should wait at least 2-3 hours after eating to engage in vigorous physical activity.

I tend to follow that by eating a light meal around 3 hours before I have to play. I'd much rather be hungry during a match than feel too full. Plus, you can always bring some bananas to snack on during a match, but you can't empty your stomach. Not without compromising the playability of the court, at least.
 
SwankPeRFection

SwankPeRFection

Hall of Fame
I can't play if I'm hungry. I get moody if my blood sugar gets low and if my mind is like that, nothing works. If I plan on playing at night around 6 or 7PM, I will eat lunch at 1 or so (plate of pasta usually). Then I will most likely be hungry a bit around 4:30 or 5. I will eat a small mean at that point that has some protein and what I consider easily digestible carbs for me. I find that mashed potatoes for some reason work really well for me. So, I'll usually eat a couple of slices of the carving board turkey and some mashed potatoes. Nothing to overstuff myself, but enough to not feel hungry anymore. I find that as long as I have a good 1 to 1.5 hours between when I ate and when I played, I'm fine as long as I didn't eat anything that takes a while to digest... for me anyway. Everyone is different.
 
LuckyR

LuckyR

Legend
ilovetennis212 said:
Please share your info if you can.
This is usual my diet schedule so far.
I play the match from 6pm to 9pm in summer, spring. And I don't eat anything after lunch(12:30-1:30)
I play the match from 3pm to 6pm in winter, fall.
And I eat lunch(12:30-1:30) light before the match.

Last week
I ate full meal right before the match.
And I couldn't run over 30% of my full speed.
I couldn't hit over 50% of my shot's accuracy.
I was stupid to eat full meal right before match.
It got me thinking..

How is the diet schedule for ATP, WTA pros.
Sometimes they play matches at 11:30am
Sometimes 3pm sometimes 6pm sometimes 9pm.
I want to know what time they eat and how much they eat.
Please share if you know their diet schedule.
Or share your own schedule.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are into dietary stuff. Good for you. But be aware that since you are not a Pro yourself, any energy you put into dietary changes will result in better matchplay by being directed at your game instead.
 
F

Frayed Mains

New User
I believe what you eat is as important as when you eat. Wife is a trained nutritionist, and she tries to get me to keep my blood sugar level as consistent as possible, so to avoid spikes and crashes. This has helped on-court tremendously.

I try to eat normal meal schedule of non-processed, low-carb foods. If meal falls within 1.5 hours of match, will lighten meal a little to avoid digestion issues. In any case, i take in light foods, mostly some fruit and a handful of nuts about 30 minutes prior to match time. Take in water, but make it constant, don't binge.

Most of us don't play the marathon matches the pros do, and only need about 2 hours of energy. If you avoid the highs, you also avoid the lows.

Works for me. Good luck!
 
ilovetennis212

ilovetennis212

Professional
Frayed Mains said:
I believe what you eat is as important as when you eat. Wife is a trained nutritionist, and she tries to get me to keep my blood sugar level as consistent as possible, so to avoid spikes and crashes. This has helped on-court tremendously.

I try to eat normal meal schedule of non-processed, low-carb foods. If meal falls within 1.5 hours of match, will lighten meal a little to avoid digestion issues. In any case, i take in light foods, mostly some fruit and a handful of nuts about 30 minutes prior to match time. Take in water, but make it constant, don't binge.

Most of us don't play the marathon matches the pros do, and only need about 2 hours of energy. If you avoid the highs, you also avoid the lows.

Works for me. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your experience
 
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