Rafael Nadal’s Top 4 Diet Secrets to Stay in Form

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The legendary Spanish former professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal, who was ranked as the world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times, is often hailed as an inspiration to the young generation of tennis players.

Rafael Nadal played professional tennis for 38 long years and claimed numerous coveted titles and grand slams throughout his star-studded professional tennis career. Nadal clinched a record total of 92 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including 22 major titles (among which a record 14 French Open titles), as well as 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal. Well, in order to maintain his performance on the court, Rafael Nadal led an extremely disciplined life and never compromised on his diet and fitness regime.

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In this article we will take a look at the hidden secrets of Rafael Nadal’s diet that helped him to stay unwaveringly at the top of tennis for over three decades.

Rafael Nadal’s Top 4 Diet Secrets to Stay in Form

• Rafael Nadal’s “Seawater” Hydration Routine

During his hardcore and highly intense matches on the court, Rafael Nadal always used to consume seawater as his ultimate hydration strategy. In one of his interviews, Nadal’s personal dietitian, Angel Ruiz, revealed that Nadal consumes cold-micro-filtered seawater to help recover mineral salts lost during intense physical activity. Although a bit too unconventional, Nadal’s “seawater” hydration routine during the intense matches undoubtedly helped him to stay at the top of the game and dominate his opponents on the court.

• Rafael Nadal’s Seafood Fixation

According to reports, the legendary Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal’s diet includes fish and seafood to a large extent. Well, hailing from Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean, Nadal was particularly raised on a Mediterranean diet that consisted mainly of fish and seafood, which later became a major part of his diet after stepping into the world of professional tennis.

In many of his interviews, Rafael Nadal has openly spoken about his love for “paella”, which is a traditional Spanish dish made of rice, saffron, and a mix of seafood like shrimp, mussels, and clams. Since seafood is extremely rich in nutrients like selenium, zinc, vitamin D, and B12 —it really played a major role in strengthening Nadal’s fitness and led to improved joint health, muscle recovery, and energy metabolism.

• Rafael Nadal’s “Secret” Diet Ingredients

Well, bananas and dates have been the two secret diet ingredients that have undoubtedly proved to be magical for Rafael Nadal’s ever-growing dominance on the court. These two natural superfoods served as the ultimate match-time fuel for Nadal all throughout his professional tennis career.

During changeovers, Nadal was often spotted bunching on bananas during the most crucial matches as they are deeply packed with potassium and help prevent muscle cramps and also helped Nadal with maintaining his hydration level on the court. Talking about Nadal’s other secret diet ingredient, “date”, it served as an ultimate nutritional punch for the tennis stalwart. Deeply loaded with natural sugars, magnesium, iron, and antioxidants, dates played a major role for Nadal in refueling his tired muscles during intense and long-drawn matches.

• Rafael Nadal’s Pre-Post Match Rituals

According to reports, Rafael Nadal used to follow an extremely disciplined diet based on his match schedules. Nadal preferred light meals before going in for the match, which generally included pasta, rice and veggies. As mentioned earlier, Nadal used to consume an unconventional yet extremely nutritional combination of dates and bananas during the match in order to stay hydrated and energetic on the court for long hours. After the match, Nadal used to consume a high-protein meal packed with good carbs and healthy fats for seamless and quick muscle recovery.

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