What is the Best Thing to Drink During a Tennis Match?
by: Mark Winship @ In Touch Tennis

One of the most common questions I am asked as a coach is "What should I be drinking during a tennis match?" It's a good question. The mass of advice (both anecdotal and scientific), and the countless different types of sports drink on the market make it difficult to know which approach is best. Top brand names such as Lucozade and Gatorade do their best to befuddle us with terms such as isotonic, hypertonic, dehydration, rehydration, and electrolytic!

So how do we start to make sense of all of this mumbo jumbo? Well there are three major considerations when thinking about fluid intake for sport;

Volume of fluid intake Composition of fluid intake Personal taste

Most people involved in sport are now pretty switched on to the idea that replacing fluid during exercise is vitally important, but if you need the official standpoint on this issue then;

"It is the position of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) that adequate fluid replacement helps maintain hydration and, therefore, promotes the health, safety, and optimal performance of individuals participating in regular physical activity"

The primary goal for fluid intake is to fully replace sweat loss but it will also help to reduce your body temperature and lower your heart rate (dehydration having the opposite effect). As a general rule if you are feeling thirsty then you are already dehydrated. This said, I would like to now concentrate on that initial question; "What should I be drinking during a tennis match?"

The traditional answer to this question has always been water. So is water really the best thing to drink in order to replace fluid loss during a tennis match? Well, it's good but not the best. The trouble with drinking plain water is that it very quickly removes our internal drive to drink causing the satiation of thirst. If we are not thirsty we are not likely to drink and this reduction in fluid intake occurs too early and before enough fluid has been ingested.

So what's the alternative? Well those of you who have been known to frequent pubs and bars on occasion will be familiar with the old bar-man's trick of plying customers with crisps and nuts to encourage them to drink more. The presence of low levels of salt in a beverage will help maintain the internal drive to drink and thus make sure that fluid intake is greater.

Unfortunately a bottle of salt water will not do wonders for your tennis performance. So what's next in our quest to rustle up the perfect tennis drink? Those taking part in sports like tennis that require intermittent, high intensity movements also benefit from carbohydrate ingestion. OK listen carefully, here comes the science! Carbohydrates (glucose and glycogen) fuel the energy systems of the body and get depleted during exercise. The ACSM suggest that;

"During intense exercise lasting longer than 1 hour, it is recommended that carbohydrates be ingested at a rate of 30-60 grams/hour"

So what does that mean to anyone who doesn't where a lab coat for a living? Well most sports drinks contain 6-7% carbohydrate (60-70g carbohydrate/litre). So consumption of one litre of sports drink per hour will provide the needed amount of carbohydrate for energy. However, many athletes sweat at rates over 1 litre per hour so more should be drunk to match this. This will cause absolutely no problems as long as the concentration of carbohydrate is not over 7%. This may result in gastrointestinal distress (stomach ache to you and me!). It is often best to combine drinking a sports drink with drinking water to meet these demands.

Still with me? Well one last thing- check the ingredients of your chosen sports drink and try to avoid those that contain mostly or solely fructose. This may also give you stomach ache during exercise.

But let's be realistic for a second. If you don't enjoy the taste of something you are not going to drink it. I myself am not too keen on drinking plain water during a match. Most sports drinks are flavoured and sweetened and it is important to choose one that is to your taste. Any step that can be taken to increase voluntary fluid intake will help prevent dehydration.

OK I feel a good summary is in order!