Middle Weekend at Wimbledon! Are You Fit Like They Are?

It's breakfast at Wimbledon (even if I'm watching from home!) and today's matches include the previous 2 years champion in Carlos Alcaraz (#2) vs Andrey Rublev (#14) and Aryna Sabalenka (#1) vs Elise Mertens (#24). And for the Americans today Taylor Fritz (#5) takes on Jordan Thompson and representing USA Amanda Anisimova (#13) takes on Linda Noskova (#30). Tomorrow (Monday) there is no play and will pick back up Tuesday. Top players Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and USA's Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro won their matches yesterday.

There is just a magic about Wimbledon that the other Grand Slams don't have.....maybe it's the all white tennis attire, the impeccable grass courts, the tradition or all the fans watching from Henman Hill or maybe it is the breakfast! Strawberries and champagne. It's a great tournament to watch even if your not a tennis athlete or fan. It's like non golfers watching The Masters.

From a fitness standpoint, tennis athletes at Wimbledon are in their best shape and ready to play for hours on these grass courts....sometimes lasting as long as 5 hours. So how do they do it and come right back two days later and do it again? It begins with eating right, hydration, electrolytes, 7-8 hours of sleep and being physically conditioned to perform at the highest level. BTW....hydration starts days before their matches.

Tennis athlete workouts include strength and power training, flexibility, plyometric, SAQ drills, cardio and exercises that mimic every movement on the court. This is so important for tennis athletes. Your limbs are stretched in every shot and movement, so strengthening these movements help tennis pros hit shot after shot for hours. They slide on the grass, they jump, they reach high on serves and overheads and turn their backs to their opponents and then whip around hitting 80-90 mph forehands and backhands. They lift weights to strengthen shoulders, legs and hips. They use medicine balls and resistance bands to help mimic movements on the court. So, the reason they can play for hours and hours and still hit 125 mph serves in hour 5 is because they are FIT.

If you want to improve your game and fitness, focus on what the pros do - nutrition, hydration, sleep and fitness that mimics the movements on the court. I'm not suggesting if you do this you can hit 125 mph serves, but I guarantee you, your game and fitness will improve.

So, back to Wimbledon. Can Carlos win a 3rd title in a row at age 22? Or can Novak pull one more out after winning 4 in a row before Carlos Alcaraz came along. Maybe Sinner or Shelton? Can Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka get their first Wimbledon or will it be relative newcomer? Whoever the champions will be in 2025, will be sure to inspire us to improve our game and fitness. It's time for "Breakfast at Wimbledon".