The U.S. Open Tennis Stars All Eat This 1 Food During Matches
Tennis is a grueling sport that demands strong training and a healthy diet. There’s one food in particular that helps tennis players refuel during long matches, particularly at major events like the U.S. Open. And you probably have this food in your kitchen right now.
Bananas are the key to success
Tennis stars like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki all eat bananas during matches. A good source of carbohydrates and potassium, this fruit is a go-to when their energy levels are low or they experience muscle cramps during a lengthy match.
Cramping can be caused by a lack of potassium, so this fruit — with 422 mg of potassium in a medium-sized banana — can relieve this ailment. Plus, a banana can serve as a sports-drink alternative in order to refuel and reenergize during a match.
Caroline Wozniacki’s diet routine
Wozniacki’s lunch of choice involves a lot of vegetables, particularly broccoli, which she loves. She’ll also eat asparagus and spinach for some variety. Along with veggies, Wozniacki adds chicken and rice to complete the meal. She almost always eats pasta before a match because it absorbs quickly, giving her energy to compete.
After a match, Wozniacki typically chooses a protein-rich heavy dinner consisting of turkey, chicken, or steak with rice and potatoes. In the morning, she prefers pancakes.
Simona Halep’s diet routine
When she’s not training to compete, Halep likes to eat seafood, especially sushi — but she limits herself to California rolls. Pasta is also a part of her regular diet, but she prefers it without sauce. Halep likes to have her pasta with olive oil and sometimes a little bit of parmesan.
Rafael Nadal’s diet routine
Rafael Nadal almost always eats fish when he doesn’t have a match after a meal. Paella is another dish the Spaniard enjoys, but he doesn’t eat too much because then he can’t play. Shrimp dumplings and pasta are Nadal’s other diet staples, as well as shrimp and mushrooms. He eats olives on a near-daily basis. When he’s looking to “cheat,” you’ll probably see him eating cake or chocolates.
Novak Djokovic’s diet routine
Djokovic has adhered to a gluten-free diet since 2010. Over time, his diet has also become dairy-free, sugar-free, and plant-based. “The Joker” prefers sweet foods for breakfast. He often mixes honey, fruits, and oat-based cereals. Djokovic likes to have Power Bowl Muesli for lunch, which is made with gluten-free rolled oats, golden raisins, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. On the side, he chooses rise or almond milk and fruits like bananas, berries, or sliced apples.
The tennis star’s prematch meal includes pasta with olive oil and garlic. After a match, Djokovic goes with a protein-rich option, usually fish. He typically has carrot ginger soup with his dinner, and his snack of choice is a blueberry almond butter smoothie.
Roger Federer’s diet routine
For the last 20 years, Federer has only had one meal before his matches — you guessed it — pasta, which is an integral part of his diet. He’s also a well-known fan of pizza. For breakfast, the Swiss tennis player likes homemade waffles, fresh juice, and coffee. He often concludes with a shot of vinegar.
Federer enjoys spicy dinners, so he often eats Italian, Japanese or Indian meals. Federer’s favorite snack is chocolate, but he also enjoys fondue and raclette. The latter is a cheese that melts smoothly when heated and is scraped onto a plate.
