Do You Want To Know Why Do Tennis Players Eat Bananas!

Why do tennis players eat bananas during game? Bananas are a good source of instant energy and as such tennis players would benefit from it during a match

Whether you’re a supporter that watch match at a grand slam or you simply at your local tennis court, one thing that you’ll notice for sure is that almost all tennis players eats bananas during or after the match. So, is there any reason why this happens quite often or do tennis players just enjoy eating bananas? We will be going through all that and more in the in-depth article.

Why do tennis players eat bananas? We think the number one reason most tennis players enjoy eating bananas during gameplay is because it contains a lot of fast carbs which provides the players with more energy. Also, bananas plays a very important role when it comes to prevent cramping from happening, which is definitely most tennis players worst nightmare.

Benefits of Eating Bananas

Fast Energy: The good news is that eating bananas before or even after the match, it will provide you with a lot of fast carbs, which gives your body quick energy. These carbs and sugar that you’ll get from eating bananas will enable you to stay sharp throughout the entire game.

You should know that one banana contains a total of 30g carbohydrates, which is the perfect amount so that you can get a quick boost. Eating bananas will actually help you to sustain your energy level throughout the whole game giving you an advantage over your opponent. Another benefits with eating bananas is that it also helps to reduce recovery periods after workout.

Convenient: Eating bananas before match is one of the most convenient ways to provide the tennis player with all the nutrients needed so that him/her as a easier time moving around the court without getting drained easily.

Another thing that make bananas so popular is because it is literally everywhere, all you have to do is take a quick visit to your local store and you will surely see a bunch of bananas available for purchase. Also, because of their sizes they are very easy to put in your tennis bag and head to the courts. It’s safe to say that even at recreational level, bananas are one of the cheapest foods a person can buy at the market right now.

Prevents Cramping: Bananas are well known on the market to be one of the best ways to prevent and get rid of cramping. Which is considered to be one of the biggest nightmare for all tennis players during match. As soon as a tennis player starts to cramp while playing, it nearly impossible to continue since you are unable to move freely.

The sad part is that cramps usually take awhile to go away and there’s no way to treat it like a normal injury. Bananas contain an electrolyte called potassium, which does a pretty good job at retaining a fluid balance in your body’s cells and that reduces your chances of developing cramps while playing.

Filled With Vitamin C: Another amazing benefit that comes with eating bananas is that they are filled with Vitamin C. Base on study’s, one banana contains about 15% of the Vitamin C that your body needs on a daily basis. Vitamin C is pretty solid when it comes to strengthening your muscles, ligaments and keep your immune system functioning right under the stress of exercising.

Eating Bananas During a Tennis Match

Not only is bananas a good nutrients source to eat before playing or after playing your tennis match, but it is also great during one. If you’re a serious tennis fan that watches professional match or at your local tennis court, there’s a high chance that you’ll see tennis players eating bananas during the breaks in a match. There are several reasons why this usually happens, but these are the main ones why tennis players love to eat bananas during a match.

The number one reason why tennis players choose to eat bananas during a match is because it provides their body with fast energy which gives them a edge over their opponent. You will find also find a couple of players who choose to eat an energy bar instead, while some prefer eating bananas. To my knowledge, both work absolutely great, but bananas are not only good in terms of nutrition, it is also very easy to pick up, peel and eat.

Limited Time to Eat

As a tennis player during gameplay you only have a limited amount of time for breaks and therefore, they need to eat whatever they have for lunch, to get eaten quickly. Bananas are so easily to peel and eat, it doesn’t take more than 20 seconds to eat a full size banana, which is the perfect snack for all tennis players on a limited time.

During a tennis game each player gets around 90 second to rest between and during changes. They don’t want you to spend all the limited time eating, they want you to take the time out to drink water and think about your next game plan strategy. You should keep in mind that there are only a few nutrition food out there that provide the same amount of fast carbs that take the same amount of time to eat as a banana and this is the number one reason why it is the ideal choice for most tennis players.

Let us look at some interesting facts about bananas

• A banana is actually considered as a berry and not a fruit. This is because botanically a berry contains seeds inside the flesh, not outside as seen in a banana.
• The scientific name for banana is musasapientum which literally translates to “fruit of the wise men.”This is probably because as we have seen above, bananas help in maintaining nerves and muscles in the body.
• Alexander the Great discovered the Banana crop in the Indian valleys when He and his troops invaded India during 300 B.C. Portuguese colonisers introduced bananas to the Americas, but it was Jules Verne who got it to Europe.
• The banana plant is classified as a perennial herb and there are almost 1,000 varieties of bananas throughout the world, as per the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
• It is likely that bananas were first cultivated not for food but as a source of fibres that were treated and then made into cloth.
• Bananas are sterile which means you can’t sow seeds and grow them. Bananas are grown by cutting a piece from another plant.
• Bananas are radioactive! They contain microscopic amounts of the isotope potassium-40 so they are not harmful unless they are consumed on a daily basis in very large amounts.
• Bananas can help to lower blood pressure and protect heart health due to high potassium and low salt content. It also helps to fight depression, cure headaches and they also help in weight loss by filling you up. Bananas are a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, fibre, antioxidants, calcium and folic acid.
• The inside of a banana peel can help relieve itching and inflammation caused due to insect bites or poison ivy. 
• Bananas are the only known fruit that helps to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin in Human Body.

Conclusion

As you can see bananas plays a very important role in terms of energy which is why you should definitely implement it in your daily workout routine. If you want to perform at your best, you should consider eating bananas before and during the match. It won’t necessarily turn you into a better player, but it will for sure give you the opportunity to focus and perform at your best level.

There are lots of players that constantly worry about having too much food in their stomach when running around the court. Which I know for sure can be super annoying and will sometime lead to a bad performance. However, that is not the case with bananas. Not only are they easy to eat, but they are one of the easiest nutrition source for your stomach.

I’ve never heard anyone complaining about having problems with their stomach after eating a banana. If that was the case, you wouldn’t see 8/10 players on ATP/WTA Tour eating bananas all the time during match.

Bananas are not only healthy for the body and taste delicious, but they are one of most convenient ways for tennis players to gain some fast carbs. If you ever feel like you are lacking focus or doesn’t feel energized during a long game and haven’t implemented bananas to your daily meal, you are certainly missing out. You should try it out today and I can guarantee that you’ll be in love with bananas from now going forward.