Tennis stars travel globally more than any other group of athletes due to the international nature of the sport.
With tour-level tournaments held in 29 countries across five continents, men’s players travelled a combined 2.3 million km across the 2024 season, according to ATP data.
Every player knows the importance of getting over jetlag quickly and has their own method of attempting to regulate their circadian rhythm.
Novak Djokovic, known for meticulously fine-tuning his body, tries to “over-hydrate” on his flight, adding lemon, mint, and salt to his water.
“When I arrive at the hotel, I ground myself with bare feet on natural ground as soon as possible, followed by a hot bath with Epsom salts,” the 24-time major champion told Travel + Leisure magazine, external.
“Then on the first morning, I try to watch the sunrise, to reset my brain.”
Natural herbal tablets, often containing plant-based ingredients like valerian, hops, chamomile and passionflower are a popular coping strategy, while many players have turned to melatonin as a sleep aid.
Taking the hormone, which your brain produces in response to darkness and therefore helps you sleep, has led to serious repercussions for some leading players, though.
Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek was banned for one month in 2024 after failing a doping test because the melatonin she took to avoid jetlag was contaminated.
In 2023, Greece’s then-world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas blamed the tablets for a sluggish performance in his French Open quarter-final thrashing by Carlos Alcaraz.
