Dehydration during long matches can lead to muscle cramps and heat exhaustion, so it is crucial to consume sufficient fluids prior to playing and not simply depend on thirst to gauge your hydration status.
Sweat loss during tennis matches can reach 1-2.5 liters an hour, leading to dehydration and eventually to decreased performance.
Symptoms of dehydration
Dehydrated tennis players are at increased risk of heat-related illness and performance decline due to fatigue, muscle cramps and loss of overall endurance. To help avoid such decline, players must ensure they remain properly hydrated prior to, during, and post matches by replenishing electrolytes such as sodium and potassium as well as carbohydrates – both providing energy sources during intensive physical activity.
Tennis practice and tournament competition, combined with environmental heat stress, can cause junior players to sweat profusely; 1 liter per hour has been reported among young adolescent tennis players and can increase up to 2.5 liters per hour in older adolescents and adults. A high sweat rate does not necessarily indicate dehydration; however if an athlete experiencing symptoms of dehydration continues exercising or playing in hot conditions they could lose fluids more rapidly, increasing thermal strain and risking heat-related illness.
One study discovered that junior tennis players often begin matches measurably dehydrated, leading them to experience greater thermal strain and reduce their ability to finish matches (20). Players starting their match with body weight loss of 2% or greater experienced a 2% decrease in tennis specific skills (20).
Water alone cannot replace sweat losses for athletes; rather, they must also replenish electrolytes they lose through sweat, such as sodium and potassium, that our bodies need for nerve impulse transmission, digestion of nutrients in the gut, cognitive functions and muscle contractions. Therefore, to properly replenish lost fluids during a match it is recommended that they consume sports drinks containing electrolytes such as electrolyte-rich beverages as well as eating carbohydrates-rich food before and after competitions.
Studies conducted for this research also showed that less than half of players surveyed understood the significance of preloading their bodies with fluids prior to tennis matches, requiring additional emphasis to be put on informing both players and coaches on proper hydration practices, particularly among pre-adolescent children.
Heat-related illness
Dehydration can be a significant concern when playing tennis. When dehydrated, players can experience symptoms like thirst, dizziness and leg cramps; due to sweat loss of up to 2.5 liters per match. Therefore, replenishing that loss by drinking enough liquid is necessary.
Many players fail to hydrate appropriately while playing, which can result in heat-related illness and reduced performance levels. Dehydration also makes players tireder and reduces performance levels, so to prevent dehydration they should drink water and electrolyte drinks during game time. To stay hydrated properly during a match-up it is advisable to drink sufficient fluids such as water and electrolyte drinks throughout their game experience.
Bergeron and colleagues conducted the first-ever on-court thermal strain study among elite junior players participating in sanctioned tournament events. Their study concluded that even low-intensity doubles tennis play elicits significant thermal strain due to high sweat rates during practice and competition for these adolescents.
These results are in line with other studies, yet this study had some limitations that made generalizing them to other settings and athletes difficult. Environmental conditions varied significantly between days; there were no biochemical tests performed to measure participants’ hydration status; food intake wasn’t recorded either – making it hard to generalize these findings across settings and athletes.
Another drawback of the study was that participants could choose whether or not to drink water or sports beverages during matches, making it impossible to measure whether participants were effectively mitigating body water deficits during gameplay.
Though this study had limitations, its results indicate that an educational lecture on hydration is an effective means for increasing junior tennis player hydration status. Coaches and parents need to emphasize the significance of staying hydrated with young players in order to promote proper development of young tennis players.
As an avid tennis player, hydration is crucial to reaching peak performance on the court. When competing multiple matches per day, maintaining proper hydration levels is even more essential; drinking only water may not provide adequate rehydration as it doesn’t contain essential electrolytes like sodium and chloride that your body needs; therefore it is recommended to consume a balanced diet along with including sports beverages in your meals as part of this strategy.
Performance
Though dehydration has a detrimental effect on both exercise performance and risk for heat-related illness, junior tennis players often fail to appreciate its significance – particularly those playing without advice from coaches or parents.
Hydration habits among junior tennis players can be improved through education and practice; however, for long-term hydration management improvements this knowledge must become part of their routine.
Due to sweat rates and short recovery periods between matches, junior players often incur substantial body water and sodium deficits when participating in multiple same-day practice/training sessions or tournament competition. The risk increases even further when engaging in long or intense matches under hot and humid environmental conditions.
At our recent study of eight elite-level junior boys competing in their first round of sanctioned tournament competition, we observed that preplay hydration status (urine specific gravity) was strongly related to singles play thermal strain. Furthermore, player core temperatures remained elevated after each match-play session, surpassing 39 degreesC in some instances.
Prematch hydration strategies must be tailored to the environmental and physiological demands of tournament play, in particular closely monitoring body mass (BM). This allows maximizing WLR ratio – the ratio between player BM loss during practice sessions and their hydration level at match start up – and hydration at game time.
We found that WLR was significantly lower among players who had previously attended a lecture on hydration than among those who hadn’t. This should serve as a warning to young athletes to continue paying attention to hydration as part of daily training and practice sessions, using what they have learned during lectures as a source of guidance and assistance.
To maintain proper hydration levels, players should consume a small amount of fluids containing electrolytes such as tomato juice or salted sports drink about an hour prior to starting their match. This will help them minimize loss of sodium through sweat and avoid starting their match under-hydrated.
Prevention
Proper preparation can ensure optimal performance and injury prevention, including managing hydration. Dehydration disrupts normal body processes such as hormone regulation and metabolic activities, leading to muscle cramps and poor decisions on the court. Thankfully, dehydration can easily be avoided by drinking plenty of water before, during, and after matches or practice sessions.
Consume adequate fluids as well as electrolytes and carbohydrates – carbs provide fast energy sources while electrolytes support nerve function and muscle contractions – during exercise to avoid depleting these essential nutrients (Bergeron 2003). Athletes should ideally consume a beverage containing both these elements such as sports drink or juice to maintain adequate levels during their activity (Bergeron 2003).
Sweat rates of athletes depend on environmental conditions and physical fitness level. A player with a high sweat rate will lose more fluid than those with lower sweat rates; additionally, young players tend to be less effective at managing core temperature during exertion in hot environments and are thus more vulnerable to heat-related illness; it is therefore vitally important that young athletes adhere to an efficient rehydration strategy during physical activity.
Junior tennis players should follow an individualized hydration schedule, consuming over 200ml of fluid at each changeover to maintain optimal levels of hydration and temperature regulation, helping reduce muscle cramps and performance impairment. Heavier sweaters may need to drink additional amounts during matches.
Though most junior players understand the significance of proper hydration, many don’t practice it during training sessions or matches. A recent study investigating the hydration habits of youth tennis camp participants found only 50% were aware of their need to drink enough before competitions and many don’t realize when matches go long or play in hot and humid conditions that they are not drinking enough fluids during matches; so coaches and parents must educate young players about preloading with adequate amounts of fluid prior to competing as well as structured rehydration programs during competition.