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Tennis hydration and fuel

What to drink at changeovers and between sets, and what changes when you play twice in a day. · 3 min read · Updated October 2, 2026

In short: Sweat rates vary hugely between players, so fluid at changeovers works best when it’s matched to you: a tennis hydration review suggests more than 200 mL per changeover in warm conditions, ideally closer to 400 mL. Carbohydrate during matches of 2–3 hours mostly hasn’t improved performance in studies. If you play twice in a day, the warm-up for the second match is when players most often reported low-blood-sugar symptoms.

How we made this guide: we built it from the research below and checked every number against it: Lott & Galloway, sweat and sodium in tennis (2011); Tippet et al., pro women in the heat (2011); Kovacs, fluid and hydration in tennis (2008); Ranchordas et al., Nutrition for tennis (2013); Vergauwen et al., carbohydrate and stroke performance (1998); Hornery et al., carbohydrate and caffeine in tennis (2007); Gomes et al., carbohydrate in match play (2013); Munson et al., sodium and groundstrokes (2020); Hornery et al., profile of professional tennis (2007); Ferrauti et al., blood glucose in tournament tennis (2003).

Who this is for: club and tournament players who want a simple plan for what to drink and eat during a match, and on days with more than one match.

During a match: how much you sweat is personal

StudyWhoSweat rate
Lott & Galloway, 201116 men, indoor matches (~68 min)1.1 L/h on average, ranging from 0.3 to 2.0 L/h
Tippet et al., 20117 professional women, outdoor in ~30°C heat2.0 L/h on average

In the indoor study, players lost between 0.5 and 1.8 g of sodium in a single match. A sixfold spread in sweat between players is why a single number doesn’t fit everyone. Our sweat rate calculator finds yours from a before-and-after weigh-in.

At changeovers

A review of tennis hydration (Kovacs, 2008) suggests, in warm or hot conditions, more than 200 mL of electrolyte fluid per changeover, ideally closer to 400 mL, adjusted to the player. Small, regular drinks at each changeover are easier than trying to catch up late in a match.

Between sets

A longer break between sets is a chance to drink, cool down and, in a long match, take in some carbohydrate. In professional women playing in the heat (Tippet et al., 2011), a 10-minute break between the second and third sets lowered body temperature slightly in six of the seven players.

Do carbs during a match help?

The evidence is mixed. One older study found a carbohydrate drink improved stroke performance (Vergauwen et al., 1998), but two later controlled crossover studies of 2–3 hour simulated matches, each with about 12 male players, found no performance benefit (Hornery et al., 2007; Gomes et al., 2013). Expert reviews (Ranchordas et al., 2013) suggest 30–60 g of carbohydrate an hour once play goes past about 2 hours, borrowed from general sports nutrition guidance. In practice that could be a banana and a few sips of sports drink across the changeovers of a long match.

Sodium is a newer lead: in one study of 12 nationally ranked players (Munson et al., 2020), a higher-sodium drink improved groundstroke scores in 1-hour sessions. It’s one small study, so treat it as promising, not settled.

Before you play

In a study of 14 professional men at international tournaments (Hornery et al., 2007), the average urine test before matches pointed to poor hydration, according to the authors, and they still lost about 1% of body weight during hard-court matches. Drinking normally through the hours before a match means you’re not starting behind.

Playing more than one match a day

Ferrauti and colleagues (2003) asked 147 tournament players about low-blood-sugar symptoms: 64% had felt them, and the most common moment was the warm-up for the second match of a day. When the researchers measured players who played singles then doubles, average blood sugar dropped during the second match’s warm-up (from 5.8 to 4.3 mmol/L at tournaments). On average that’s a drop, not a medical emergency, but it lines up with when players reported symptoms.

Our suggestion (neither study tested it): eat and drink something between matches, before you start warming up for the next one, like a banana, a jam sandwich or yogurt with fruit.

Find your own pattern

Because the numbers are so personal, the most useful record is your own: what you ate before and what you drank during and between matches. We built My Track Record so logging a meal or a drink is one spoken sentence.

General information for healthy adult players, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing how you eat or drink.

Log matches, meals and drinks by voice.
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Andrew, founder of My Track RecordBy Andrew, founder of My Track Record. Andrew has been active all of his life across a variety of sports and continues to stay active through climbing, swimming, weight training, golfing, snowboarding, and more. He built My Track Record so logging food and training takes one spoken sentence and can support any activity. He puts these guides together from published sports science research cited on each page. About Andrew

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