Video·3 min read·May 2026

Cooling Strategies for Tennis Players: Enhancing Performance in Heat

Cold Therapy|Mechanisms|Recovery • 3 min read • Based on research by Nicolas Robin, Miguel Crespo, Toru Ishihara, Robbin Carien, Cyril Brechbuhl, Olivier Hue, Laurent Dominique (2024)

Have you ever felt the weight of the sun during a long day on the court? As temperatures rise, so does the challenge of maintaining focus and performance. For competitive athletes, especially tennis players, understanding how to manage heat stress is crucial for both health and success.

A recent study explored the cooling strategies used by tennis players in hot and humid conditions. By examining the approaches of 129 players, the research sheds light on effective methods to combat heat stress, ensuring that athletes can perform at their best even under challenging circumstances.

Understanding Heat Stress

Heat stress occurs when the body struggles to regulate its temperature, especially during intense physical activity. This is particularly relevant for tennis players, who often engage in extended matches under the sun. The study found that players experienced more heat-related illnesses in humid conditions compared to dry ones, highlighting the importance of effective cooling strategies.

When exercising in hot environments, the body generates heat from muscle activity. It relies on mechanisms like sweating and increased blood flow to the skin to cool down. However, when humidity is high, sweat doesn't evaporate as efficiently, making it harder to cool off. This can lead to fatigue, decreased performance, and even heat-related illnesses.

Cooling Strategies: What the Study Revealed

The study revealed that competitive tennis players used a variety of internal and external cooling strategies to manage heat stress. Internal strategies included consuming cold beverages, while external methods involved using cold packs and towels. Notably, international players preferred cold packs and towels more than their regional counterparts, indicating that experience and access to resources can influence strategy.

Interestingly, the research highlighted that players who trained in humid conditions reported higher levels of heat-related illness. This emphasizes the need for tailored cooling protocols depending on the environment. Implementing effective cooling strategies is essential not just for maintaining performance but also for safeguarding health during matches.

The Importance of Education and Accessibility

As the study suggests, increased awareness and education about cooling strategies are vital for athletes at all levels. Many players may not realize the effectiveness of specific methods, such as cold water immersion or the use of cold vests, which can significantly enhance recovery and performance.

Incorporating these cooling strategies into training and match protocols can create a sanctuary for athletes, allowing them to achieve equilibrium between exertion and recovery. By making these strategies accessible during tournaments, players can enhance their resilience against heat stress, ultimately improving their game.

Key Takeaways

Implement both internal and external cooling strategies to combat heat stress while playing tennis.
Educate yourself about effective cooling methods to enhance performance and recovery in varying environmental conditions.

Based on: Pre-, Per- and post-cooling strategies used by competitive tennis players in hot dry and hot humid conditions
Nicolas Robin, Miguel Crespo, Toru Ishihara, Robbin Carien, Cyril Brechbuhl, Olivier Hue, Laurent Dominique (2024). Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

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Pre- Per- and post-cooling strategies used by competitive tennis players

What This Paper Actually Argues

Here's the core finding, stripped down: not all heat is the same, and the athletes who understand that perform better and stay healthier. This study of 129 competitive tennis players across regional, national, and international levels found that hot and humid conditions were consistently rated as more stressful than hot and dry — and that international players had significantly more sophisticated cooling protocols to match. They weren't just drinking cold water. They were using cold packs, cold towels, cold water immersion, and cooling vests. Strategically. At the right times.

The mechanism matters here. In dry heat, sweat evaporates efficiently — your body's primary cooling system works as designed. In humid heat, that evaporation is blunted. The sweat stays on your skin. Core temperature climbs higher and faster, reaching 39.5°C in humid conditions versus 38.5°C in neutral ones. That one degree difference doesn't sound like much until you're three sets in and your attentional processing starts degrading.

How It Compares to the Broader Literature

The QMD knowledge base has a study on hand and forearm cooling during halftime in team sports that shows something relevant: targeted peripheral cooling — even just an arm — can meaningfully reduce perceived exertion and support performance in the second half. That research, combined with what Robin et al. found in tennis, suggests a consistent pattern: external cooling interventions are underutilized at lower competitive levels, not because they don't work, but because players simply haven't been educated about them.

There's also the Racinais et al. work in endurance athletes, referenced in this paper, showing that most athletes rely primarily on personal experience rather than evidence-based protocols when choosing cooling strategies. That's a gap. Experience is a reasonable teacher, but it's slow. Research can compress that learning considerably.

Humidity doesn't just make heat harder to tolerate — it breaks the body's primary cooling mechanism entirely. When you can't evaporate sweat, you need to bring the cold to you.

Where the Field Agrees and Where It Gets Nuanced

There's broad consensus that pre-, per-, and post-cooling all have distinct value — they're not interchangeable. Pre-cooling lowers your baseline core temperature before exertion begins. Per-cooling maintains thermoregulatory headroom during the match. Post-cooling accelerates recovery so you can perform again tomorrow. The disagreement is mostly about which methods work best in which conditions. Ice slurry ingestion is highly effective in dry heat but can cause gastric discomfort. Cold water immersion is powerful but logistically demanding during a match. Cold packs and towels are accessible and practical, which is why international players — who've learned to prioritize effectiveness over convenience — reach for them first.

A Practical Recommendation

Know your environment before you arrive. If you're competing in humid heat, cold drinks alone won't cut it. Your evaporative cooling system is already compromised. Bring external tools — a cold towel for the neck and wrists during changeovers, cold packs for breaks, and if post-match recovery matters, prioritize cold water immersion over a lukewarm shower. The sequence matters: pre-cool before extended warmup, manage during play, and don't skip the post-session intervention.

The Surprising Connection

What I find most interesting here is the gap between competitive levels — not in physical talent, but in thermal literacy. Regional players defaulted to cold drinks. International players deployed layered, timing-specific protocols across internal and external methods. This isn't a fitness difference. It's an education difference. Which means the performance gap between a regional and an international player in hot humid conditions isn't just about conditioning — it's about knowing how your body actually loses heat, and what to do when the primary mechanism fails. That's a protocol problem, not a physiology problem. And protocol problems are solvable.

Pre- Per- and post-cooling strategies used by competitive tennis players

Cooling Strategies for Tennis Players: Enhancing Performance in Heat

Understanding Heat Stress

Cooling Strategies: What the Study Revealed

The Importance of Education and Accessibility

Key Takeaways

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