Florida players

[a10best]

Quote from the 2022 Miami Open; I'm a Florida boy," Korda said. "I love the humidity. Heat and humidity, those are my two favorite things. I just play some really good tennis in them."

For you native born FL, GA or Carolina players do you also find the heat & humidity a non-factor or an advantage?

Not being from Florida I found it constantly hard to adjust to heat and humidity than altitude. 90+ degrees and humid exhausts the heck out of me, while 90 and dry is a piece of cake.
I believe I tried everything. Because of all the clay courts I enjoy staying.

 

[travlerajm]

Korda likes it because half of his opponents have trouble adjusting to the conditions, so he has better results there.

 

[Chalkdust]

Not exactly answering your question since I was not born in FL... moved here 4 years ago after 50-odd years in CA.
Initially I found it very hard to play in the heat / humidity. It can be very draining if you're not used to it.
However after being here a while I'm now fine in the heat / humidity... in fact I handle it better than some who grew up here, but don't play as often as I do.
So I think it comes down to how much you play/train here in these conditions, not how long you've lived here.

 

[theSHAMOO]

NC native, used to be enrolled as a junior in summer coaching that lasted 6-8 hours a day with other students. This included conditioning, stretching, some team building, drilling, matchplay, and some downtime around lunch. The hottest days getting near 100 degrees, and typically Carolina summers can be pushing 75-100% humidity around mid day. Did this a couple of summers for 6 weeks each time, consequently I love the heat/humidity. Recreationally, if you plan on playing in this weather, bring more water than you think you need, ideally you will have a tap or spicket close to the courts so you can continue to fill one of the half gallon jugs

 

[Creighton]

Quote from the 2022 Miami Open; I'm a Florida boy," Korda said. "I love the humidity. Heat and humidity, those are my two favorite things. I just play some really good tennis in them."

For you native born FL, GA or Carolina players do you also find the heat & humidity a non-factor or an advantage?

Not being from Florida I found it constantly hard to adjust to heat and humidity than altitude. 90+ degrees and humid exhausts the heck out of me, while 90 and dry is a piece of cake.
I believe I tried everything. Because of all the clay courts I enjoy staying.

Yes. I go into almost all matches knowing that no one is going to out fitness me. So I love a good hot day to know my opponents are going to be sucking come the second set.

 

[kevrol]

I'm in the Carolinas. I love it when my opponent starts complaining about the heat and humidity.

 

[a10best]

Amazing. From 12pm to 5pm is a no go for me because I only got one good set in me. Otherwise, I am looking like a tired Andy Murray or Monfis letting the racket hold me up.
I used to do 5-8 times up 180 stairs, 1 mile runs & sprints, 30 min lifecycles, and long mountain bike rides back on the west coast. heat + humidity is a monster to defeat. It felt the same when I played in Houston in the summer too.

 

[tri10806]

Born and raised in Georgia, college and adult life in Florida. There's nothing I enjoy more than summer nights playing tennis. Okay, maybe a couple things!

 

[BH40love]

Yes , born and raised Florida love the heat and humidity. Mid day for training and evening matches

 

[mikeler]

Native Floridian here, a few points:

1. Block the sun as much as possible with large hats and long clothing (if comfortable in it) and try to find shade on changeovers.
2. Make sure you have enough electrolytes and energy on demand to eat/drink when needed. Lots of cold water obviously.
3. The morning is the worst in the summer. Sure it is cooler but the humidity is the highest.
4. The more days you can train/practice/play in the heat, the better.
5. Do non-tennis activities in the heat. The more you are out in it, the better your body will acclimate.
6. Consider cold towels and other things to put on your neck on changeovers to lower your body temperature.
7. If you sweat a lot, consider bringing extra towels, hats, headbands and wrist bands for moisture control.
8. If you still have trouble, shorten the points.
9. Embrace the triple challenge of battling your opponent, the heat and yourself!

 

[Vox Rationis]

Opposite perspective. Moved away from the heat and humidity and had no clue how much a difference it made until I went back to visit friends one summer and we played tennis. It was like 80-90% humidity and I couldn't last 20 minutes. I used to not even notice it and now it's unbelievably draining. Makes a HUGE difference when you live there vs living in drier climates.

 

[smg]

I was born and raised in Norcal, moved to GA in my late 20s. It took a couple of years, but got used to the heat and didn't have a problem with it. I lived in Northeast England for 2 years in my late 30s and have never been able to readjust to the heat since returning to GA. Now in my late 40s I've given up on summer singles leagues; doubles is doable, but singles in the heat takes too much out of me no matter how much training I do.

 

[davidtennis123]

Quote from the 2022 Miami Open; I'm a Florida boy," Korda said. "I love the humidity. Heat and humidity, those are my two favorite things. I just play some really good tennis in them."

For you native born FL, GA or Carolina players do you also find the heat & humidity a non-factor or an advantage?

Not being from Florida I found it constantly hard to adjust to heat and humidity than altitude. 90+ degrees and humid exhausts the heck out of me, while 90 and dry is a piece of cake.
I believe I tried everything. Because of all the clay courts I enjoy staying.

I'm not from any of the states you listed, but I'm from a state that has weather the equivalent of Florida and it's a huge advantage I think. I don't think people from the deep south understand how hot and humid it really gets here. And for us who grew up in southeast Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, it's nothing unusual for us to play in this type of heat. For a northerner, it would be torture to play in the deep south's summer.

 

[a10best]

I'm not from any of the states you listed, but I'm from a state that has weather the equivalent of Florida and it's a huge advantage I think. I don't think people from the deep south understand how hot and humid it really gets here. And for us who grew up in southeast Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, it's nothing unusual for us to play in this type of heat. For a northerner, it would be torture to play in the deep south's summer.

Add western people to that. Cloudy and humid is easy but once the sun breaks through with 70 percent plus humidity it is slow kryptonite.

 

[c-had]

Opposite perspective. Moved away from the heat and humidity and had no clue how much a difference it made until I went back to visit friends one summer and we played tennis. It was like 80-90% humidity and I couldn't last 20 minutes. I used to not even notice it and now it's unbelievably draining. Makes a HUGE difference when you live there vs living in drier climates.

I'm with you. I grew up among the swamps in southeastern Louisiana, playing tennis for hours every day during the summer heat and humidity. I've lived my adult life in Maryland, and I can't handle the heat/humidity when I go back down south. Maybe some of that is age, but much of it is just not being acclimated to it any more.