Meal Plan for a Tennis Player - Training Day

Tennis is a game which requires peak physical fitness for a long game, as well tactics and concentration. Top level tennis players will train for many hours four or five days per week. In addition to this they will perform gentle weight training and cardiovascular exercise at a gym two or three times per week. Whether you wish to excel in tennis, or even if you just enjoy it at recreational level, playing can take a lot of time and energy, so a well structured nutrition programme will help you keep fit and full of energy for a long game. Good nutrition will also help lengthy concentration, in order to maximise your skill potential.

Here's a sample meal plan which an active tennis player could follow for a typical training day:

This plan is based around sustained slow released low glycaemic carbohydrates to help provide energy for long and intense training sessions. Oatcakes and granary bread will top up this slow released energy through the daytime. It also supplies adequate protein for muscle strength and repair. See our Glycaemic Index Tables for GI values of foods.

The above plan provides sufficient levels of all nutrients, however do bear in mind that the plan is merely a general guide, and there is no mention of portion sizes on purpose so that you can adapt it to suit yourself; remember men will generally require larger portions than women! You must eat a variety of different meats/fish, complex carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables every day, and drink plenty of water.