Hydration is key to keeping up your performance on and off the court. Everyone has personal hydration needs based on sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration. To find out more about your hydration needs, check out hydration and fluid loss.

Eat to Win
Knowing what to put into your body can make a difference in performance. To know when and what to eat to improve yourself, click here.

Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is what starts your day and increases your metabolism. Find out some healthy breakfast ideas.

Why Are Fats Important?
Fat is one of three essential macronutrients that our bodies need to stay balanced. It keeps us performing our best. Find out more about fats and its sources

Why Are Carbohydrates Important?
Carbohydrates is another essential macronutrient that our bodies need to stay balanced. Our bodies prefer this source of energy. Find out more about how carbs impact our bodies

Play Sun Safe with Blue Lizard Sunscreen

Don’t let a sunburn knock you off your game. Stay sun safe by seeking shade and wearing hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. Blue Lizard’s Sport and Active mineral-based sunscreens are sweat resistant and designed to rub in clear and dry smooth, not sticky. Blue Lizard is the official sunscreen of the USTA National Campus.
 

Learn more about Blue Lizard

Incorporating strength & conditioning into your training for tennis is essential for all ages. This encompasses exercises and habits that strengthen muscles, increase joint mobility and stability, improve muscle imbalances, increase flexibility, improve movement and coordination, and promote overall health and wellness. Proper warm-ups, cool-downs, and recovery are paramount to a well-rounded tennis athlete. Learn more.

Energy needs to be replenished after intense training sessions. Choosing the right foods is important for your body to recover. To find out which foods that will help recovery, check out.

Sleep is the best time for your body to repair itself. There are even foods that promote a better night’s sleep. To find out which foods can enhance sleep, check out.

In general, here are tips on how to make the game a little healthier for you:

Lower tension – Lower tensions have become way more popular in recent years. They are not as hard on the arm as tight tensions. Higher tensions mean a stiffer string bed, which means the player must do more work with their body to generate power. Lower tensions allow the racquet to do more with less physical effort.

Flexible racquets – Racquet stiffness matters. Softer, flexible frames tend to vibrate less, which results in more arm comfort. Just because a racquet is stiff doesn’t mean it will hurt a players’ arm, but the chances are slightly higher than with a flexible frame.

Thinner gauges – Switching to a thinner gauge is also better on the arm. Thicker gauges make the string bed denser and a little bit stiffer than thinner gauges.

Types of Strings – Soft strings like natural gut, multi-filaments, and synthetic gut (in that order!) are healthier on the arm than stiff strings like polyesters. Polyester is great for spin and durability but can lead to arm discomfort, which is why polyester is mostly used by experienced players.

Note: These are all recommendations. Tennis is specific to each individual player and it would be beneficial to discuss options specific to you with your local pro shop, stringer, or racquet technician.