Why drinking before, during and after training and playing tennis can not only have a positive effect on your performance, but also much more.
They all do it, the tennis pros on the courts and tournaments of this world. Drinking during side changes is almost automatic! When it's hot, a smooth 3-set match can easily add up to four liters. And nerve-wracking, long 5-set thrillers that demand everything in terms of strength, speed and stamina?
During the hot US Open 2018, Philipp Kohlschreiber even gulped down eight liters during his match against Yannick Hanfmann, according to his own statement. The “drinking routine” Down Under was easy to see for German pro Alexander “Sascha” Zverev: change sides, sit down, reach for the water bottle, two - three sips. Immediately afterwards, he reached for the bottle with the electrolyte drink and took two or three smaller sips. Finalist Dominic Thiem reached for two different electrolyte mixtures - sometimes before, sometimes after the water, one milky white, the other yellow.
What exactly is running down their throats and why should you drink urgently? We asked around - on and off court with tennis pros, nutrition experts, drink manufacturers, consumer protection organizations and the German Nutrition Society. The results are astonishing...
THE MAIN THING IS LIQUID AND LOTS OF IT!
As a general rule, we should drink one and a half to two liters of fluid a day to keep the body's water balance in equilibrium, advises the Bavarian Consumer Association. On hot days or during strenuous activity, the fluid requirement can increase three to fourfold, depending on body size and activity. While a mix of beer and cola has long been celebrated as the regeneration drink par excellence after tennis matches by professional and amateur players alike - non-alcoholic beer is also hugely popular - tap water, still and sparkling water are mainly used on court.
However, water is only one of two drink options. The second source is the colorful array of electrolytes and isotonic drinks. But what top tennis players actually drink apart from pure, chilled water usually remains a secret, or rather their personal secret. Not if they are sponsored by a food manufacturer. Interested recreational players are then welcome to immerse themselves in information and findings on these mixtures - which all promise the same thing: Namely, to prevent the decline in your physical performance. Some with more, some with less success.
WHAT THE MARKET HAS TO OFFER
There are plenty of sports drink manufacturers, including Gatorade, Isostar, Powerbar, Powerade, Peeroton, Taxofit and Freeway. Many tennis pros, such as Anna-Lena Friedsam, Andre Begemann, Maximilian Marterer and Carina Witthöft, have been using the electrolyte drink Vitalyte, a German manufacturer that is also a drinks partner of the Schüttler-Waske Tennis University, for years. For around two years, the Bamberg-based start-up Movelab has specialized in a functional drink specially developed for tennis players of all ages, “made in Germany”. It is currently used not only by a top 10 player but also by the German Grand Slam winner Kevin Krawietz (French Open 2019, doubles), Julian Lenz, Yannick Maden, Anna Zaja, Katharina Hobgarski and the Romanian player Marius Copil. All of the ingredients in the mixable powder have been coordinated with tennis professionals and nutritionists for the tennis-specific properties of speed, endurance, agility, concentration, regeneration and the additives required on the tennis court. For example, a portion of creatine has been included in the appropriate amount for the numerous short sprints and the associated need for speed. The special carbohydrate mix of sucrose and maltodextrin provides both short-term and long-term energy. The thirst quencher, which tastes barely sweet and has a slightly salty note, contains various carbohydrates, several sources of sugar, plus vitamins and five minerals.
LONGER, MORE STRENUOUS - WHAT THEN?
Does your match on the court last longer than an hour? Then you can lose up to two liters of sweat per strenuous hour of match play - more even in the heat. And with it, especially the two main electrolytes sodium (up to 9 grams/liter) and chloride. If you get thirsty, you are already 2% dehydrated. The loss of 2% of our body weight through dehydration (for a 55 kilo lady this is 1.1 kilos) can already reduce your athletic performance by more than 20%. Every liter of fluid loss causes your core body temperature to rise, your heart rate to increase, the glycogen stored in your muscles to be used up more quickly and lactic acid to increase.
Symptoms of a sodium deficit, i.e. an imbalance in your electrolyte balance, can be: You become less energetic, can no longer concentrate as well on the game, mistakes creep in, tension and irritability appear. If the deficit lasts longer, for example because you don't drink enough salt, you may also experience symptoms of fatigue, headaches, dizziness and nausea. These symptoms intensify as the dehydration of our body continues to increase. If you drink only water in this case, you run the risk of blood thinning with sodium deficiency. In severe cases, neurological disorders follow, such as disorientation, epileptic seizures and cerebral edema.
HOW DO WE STAY ON THE BALL?
That's why professional, recreational and competitive athletes should already be properly hydrated at the start and drink regularly during every break and every change of sides - even without feeling thirsty, says German nutrition expert Nina Schaller, herself an active tennis player.
This is all the more important when it comes to competitions. The ecotrophologist recommends drinks that are easily and quickly absorbed by the body. "Sports drinks are not wrong in themselves," explains Schaller, "but they cost money and are excessive if you're only doing one hour of sport." A good mineral water with sufficient sodium content or a homemade drink made from water/juice/tea/salt, isotonic or slightly hypotonic, makes much more sense. The main thing is that it is drunk in sips during each break (see Schaller's recipe below) and is absorbed well and quickly by your body: "Depending on whether it is very warm, the game lasts longer or whether you sweat a lot, the drink comes into play with your individual fine-tuning.
However, before you use the homemade or store-bought energy drink in a competition, you should test it for tolerance in training and then try it under match conditions. It is important that you adjust the amount of salt to what is good for you. Make sure that the drink is not quite as cold - slightly cooler than the outside temperature - and that it feels good when you drink it. That should generally be the motto: Listen to your body and its signals, then you will (usually) be right.
And because it can still be quite chilly during the first points games at the end of April, Schaller also recommends warm drinks. But beware: very hot drinks increase sweating and put the body into high gear. Very cold drinks, on the other hand, give the body the signal to generate more heat and can strain the circulation and cause stomach problems. They also only quench your thirst for a short time.
“Check your fluid loss during
training by standing on the scales before and immediately after training. Then subtract the amount of fluid you have consumed
. If you weigh more after the match than before, you have drunk too much.”
Schaller's tip for a homemade electrolyte drink
You only need a few ingredients, hardly any time and you can vary.
Author: Christian Bonk
