Unfortunately there isn’t a magic food that just automatically turns you into an incredible tennis player (believe me, I’ve tried!). However, with the right nutrition, tennis players will have more energy for practice and matches, quicker recovery times, decreased risk of injury, and increased strength. What tennis player doesn’t want all that?!
Generally, if you are eating breakfast at least a couple hours before playing tennis, you should include carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat with breakfast. The closer you get to exercise, the more you should focus on eating carbohydrates to be used for energy.
Read on for more information about important foods for tennis players, what to eat before a match, and lots of breakfast ideas for teen athletes!
What are Important Foods for Tennis Players?
Your body needs three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Each plays a different role in the body. You also need a wide variety of vitamins and minerals to help your body function at its best!
So how do you get enough of all the foods your body needs? When you have a basic understanding of food and nutrition, it will get a lot easier to fuel your body properly!
Carbohydrates
First let’s talk about carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are your body’s main energy source. They power not only your exercise, but they keep your heart, lungs, brain, and rest of your body going, even when you are sleeping!
Carbohydrates are in a wide variety of foods such as:
- Starches (rice, quinoa, legumes, tortillas, bread, pasta, oatmeal, muffins, crackers, pretzels, etc.)
- Vegetables and especially starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas, and corn
- Fruit
- Dairy products
Since tennis players are expending so much energy day-to-day, they usually need more carbohydrates than the average person. They should aim to get at least one good source of carbohydrates with every meal and snack!
Protein
Protein is often referred to as the “building block of the body,” and that is for good reason! Your body needs protein to build muscle, repair damage, and heal injuries. Protein is an essential part of lots of body functions like nutrient transport, hormone development, and chemical reactions.
Some of the foods that contain protein are shown below:
- Poultry, fish, and meat
- Dairy products (Greek Yogurt is especially high in protein)
- Eggs
- Tofu
- Soy products
- Nuts, nut butters (do contain protein, but not as much as other sources)
Think about all the stress tennis players put on their body! In order to recover properly and prevent injuries, your body needs good sources of protein every 3-5 hours. Teens should aim for about 20 grams of protein at a time. Spreading out protein intake over the course of the day can help regulate hunger and hormones and also reach peak muscle recovery.
There are many protein powders and protein drinks available today to make it easy to get protein in a convenient and easy way. Teenagers should be wary of protein supplements and ask a doctor before using them.
The supplement industry is highly unregulated and harmful substances can be found in some protein supplements. A dietitian can help you choose a supplement that is safe and effective if it is necessary! Food sources are always the best way to obtain protein, but a supplement could be helpful in some situations.
Fat
Fat doesn’t always get the best reputation when we talk about health, but there are healthy fats that are essential for teen athletes to eat! Healthy fats can help decrease inflammation, meet high calorie needs, and increase absorption of important vitamins.
Aim to include mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and decrease your intake of saturated fats. Here are some examples of healthy fats:
- Oils (especially olive oil)
- Seeds
- Nuts and nut butters
- Avocado
- Fatty fish (like salmon)
Foods like burgers, chips, pizza, cookies, and ice cream have a high fat content, but most of that is saturated fat. Remember that fat is really important for a healthy diet, but the kind of fat you are eating matters a lot!
Vitamins and Minerals
The key to getting all the necessary vitamins and minerals is to eat from all of the food groups and get plenty of variety. Each food has a different nutrient profile, so eating the same thing every day might cause you to miss out on some important nutrients that your body needs!
Fruits and vegetables are especially good sources of these nutrients. The colors of the foods you are eating can often tell you what nutrients it is rich in. I recommend eating the rainbow! Get plenty of different colors throughout the day and throughout the week.
Aim to get at least 3-5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables. Athletes might even need more than that because of how hard they are working their body! Fruit is a great nutrient dense carbohydrate food to help fuel athletes that need a little pick-me-up before playing.
What Should Tennis Players Eat Before a Match?
Eating before a match is extremely important to ensure that you have enough energy to perform your best! If you are playing a match in the morning, you MUST eat breakfast, no matter how early you have to get up.
Some teenagers don’t like to eat before a match because it makes them feel sick, or sluggish. This can happen if you don’t eat the right thing!
Remember how carbohydrates are your main energy source? They are also the most easily and quickly digested. Eating a lot of fat and protein before a match will actually slow down your digestion and might make you feel not too great.
Focus on easily digestible carbohydrates before exercise, especially if you have a sensitive stomach. Some people might be able to tolerate a little bit of protein, especially liquid protein (think milk, greek yogurt, etc.)
Here are a few high-carbohydrate snacks that would be good to eat before exercise. This might mean your breakfast looks something like this if you have an early practice or match. Then remember to fuel properly during and after as well!
- Fruit smoothie with greek yogurt
- Fresh fruit, dried fruit, canned fruit
- Applesauce
- Toast with jam
- Fruit juice
- Oatmeal
- Cereal with milk
Breakfast Ideas for Tennis Players
Eating something for breakfast is always better than eating nothing, so if you struggle eating in the mornings, just start somewhere! Hopefully, as time goes on, your body will adjust and get used to eating earlier in the day.
Remember that what you eat for breakfast might change based on when you are exercising that day. Here are some balanced breakfast ideas for teenage tennis players:
- Scrambled eggs with toast and peanut butter and a fruit smoothie
- Greek yogurt, granola, berries, and half a bagel with cream cheese
- Breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and ham, with a side of fruit
- Oatmeal made with milk, topped with nuts, and dried fruit
- Protein pancakes topped with fruit and a glass of milk
- French toast with fruit and milk
- Cereal with milk, fruit and a protein bar
- Breakfast burrito with egg, potatoes, and veggies, with a glass of fruit juice
- Fruit smoothie with greek yogurt, fruit, spinach, and flax seeds
- Protein muffins topped with almond butter and a side of fruit
- Waffles with fruit and a glass of milk
- Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fruit juice
- Protein bar, dried fruit, and an english muffin
- Avocado toast with and egg, and a side of fruit and glass of chocolate milk
- Bagel with cream cheese, a hard boiled egg, and a banana
If you have trouble getting in a full meal like this, try and split your breakfast up into a couple of smaller snacks. For example, instead of eating a bagel with cream cheese, a hard boiled egg, and a banana all at the same time, you could eat the bagel with cream cheese right when you wake up and then an hour or so later, eat the egg and banana.
If you have an early morning practice or game, it might be necessary to eat a higher carbohydrate meal or snack right when you get up, fuel with carbohydrates during your practice or match, and then get one of these balanced meals afterwards!
Summary
Eating breakfast is one of the number one ways to increase your energy levels and improve sports performance. If you have been skipping breakfast for a long time, it might be a challenge to eat something in the morning! Start small and allow your body time to readjust.
Breakfast is essential no matter what time your practice or match is at. However, the timing of exercise might change the types of food that you eat for breakfast. The closer you get to exercise, the more you want to focus on carbohydrates to be used for quick energy while you play.
Eating too much protein and fat prior to exercise can sometimes cause discomfort, bloating, and tiredness. If your body handles it alright, you could try some liquid protein.
Remember to experiment with your eating before the big match! Don’t try something new on a game day, since you never know how your body will respond.
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