• Simon had a successful week at the ITF Futures M25 Idanha-a-Nova, where he reached the final of the tournament in Portugal. In very hot conditions, Simon largely stuck to a fueling and hydration plan for matches that can vary greatly in length
• Simon’s hydration and fueling plan for games breaks down into drinking a sip of plain water, water mixed with a PH 1500 tablet and a bite of a banana or cereal bar at every changeover
• He shared his specific match intake from his 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 win over Shiv Shimabukuro in the round-of-sixteen, during which conditions were extremely hot (38°C / 100.4°F)

Hydration

• Simon preloaded sensibly with 1 x PH 1500 in 500ml (16oz) water prior to the match (textbook per our preloading recommendations). Simon’s preloading could have been improved by adding at least one further PH 1500 powder to the additional 1.5L (~48oz) of plain water that he drank
• Simon’s average sodium intake across the match was 1,139mg/hr - a solid amount considering the warm conditions and his sweat sodium concentration of 921mg/L. He used 3 x PH 1500 tablets based on the fact the weather was brutally hot and Simon’s experience of muscle cramps towards the end of matches in similar conditions
• Since refining his hydration plan, Simon has resolved his cramping issues and did not experience any during this match
• On top of the 1.5L (51oz) with 3 x PH 1500 tablets, Simon drank an additional 3L (101oz) of plain water, so he drank around ~1.8Ll/hr (~61oz/hr) during the match. It should be recognised that this is a very high fluid intake but considering the very hot conditions, match duration and elite level of play, this isn’t necessarily an inappropriate fluid intake for Simon, though definitely on the upper end of what is tolerable for an athlete of his size
• If he is going to continue with this level of fluid replacement, a greater proportion of his plain water could include PH 1500. On the surface it seems he was replacing his sodium well, the total volume of fluid he consumed across the match diluted the relative sodium concentration of his drinks to ~633mg/L
• In order to determine the appropriateness of this total fluid intake, we would encourage Simon to collect some pre- and post-bodyweight data around future matches to better understand his sweat rate. Moving forward, understanding whether this volume of fluid replacement is common practice for Simon would be useful knowledge

Fueling

Conclusions

• Overall, Simon executed his fueling and hydration plan well with a brilliant match outcome and an excellent tournament in general. Possible areas for improvement are minor, but we’d recommend taking on ~30g carb pre-match
• Simon also played doubles at this tournament, therefore recovery would have been extremely important. He needs to make sure he’s optimising recovery and starting each match hydrated and ready to play again in the warm conditions
• His post-match meal hits his carb, fluid and protein requirements well. Continuing to prioritise his rehydration and refueling in the hours following match play is extremely important in tournament play