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NEW YORK — Many tennis players at the U.S. Open agree: don’t underestimate the benefits of a good nap, especially before an evening match. Whether they are in their hotel, the “Player Quiet Room,” or any other place where they can stretch out, these Grand Slam athletes value the advantages that extra sleep can provide during the tournament taking place this week and next.
“In the evening, I get tired just like everyone else, so I need to take a nap,” says Tatjana Maria, a 37-year-old mother of two from Germany, who lost to defending champion Coco Gauff under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. “I have to rest most of the afternoon to be ready for the evening.”
She is not alone in a sport where matches can begin at any time from 11 AM to 11 PM—sometimes even later. Many competitors see this as a necessity: if you don’t sleep, you will lose.
“If I feel tired, I will sleep, so I go to sleep. Maybe if I have the first match at 11 AM, I don’t have enough time. But for all other matches, I will probably take a nap of 10 or 15 minutes,” says Zhang Zhizhen, a 27-year-old who won a silver medal in mixed doubles for China at the Paris Olympics. “Sometimes I nap for one to two hours in the afternoon.”
Not everyone in tennis takes naps, but those who don’t often envy their colleagues. “I see other players taking naps, and I think, ‘I wish I could do that’,” says Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion. “But I’m too wound up before a match. There’s adrenaline and nerves.”
Tommy Paul, a 27-year-old American who reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park last year, mentions that his team encourages him to try to take naps. “Unfortunately, I can’t sleep until it’s time to go to bed,” he explains. Clara Tauson, a 21-year-old from Denmark, is afraid to take a nap on a match day because she worries she might not wake up again. “If I take a nap, I don’t know if my brain will ever wake up again,” she says.
Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, suggests a way to counter a bad reaction to napping: she drinks an espresso just before lying down. “Caffeine doesn’t kick in until 30 to 90 minutes later, so … I wake up very refreshed after” what is typically a 25-minute nap, says the 24-year-old Canadian. “A power nap is the most effective.”
Casper Ruud—who is a three-time finalist at major tournaments, including the U.S. Open two years ago—takes a nap for an hour or two if he is scheduled to play in the evening. His ideal time for an extra nap is “typically after breakfast.” “When I arrive at the venue, there’s no time to sleep,” Ruud laughs.
However, other players take advantage of the opportunity to nap whenever they can. This might happen in the dedicated area in Ashe, which is equipped with loungers and dim lighting, or in places that are not necessarily meant for sleeping. “I’ve napped in some strange places. I’ve been in locker rooms without sofas where I had to improvise,” shares Denis Shapovalov, a 25-year-old Canadian who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2021. “I’ve slept in restaurants during tournaments and on the floor of a gym.”
Leylah Fernandez, a finalist at the U.S. Open in 2021, is not particularly picky about where she takes her naps. “The lucky thing for me is that I can sleep pretty much anywhere,” says the 21-year-old Fernandez. “That’s my little hidden talent.”
And what about sleeping during a match? Nick Kyrgios can attest that it is possible. In 2015, while playing against Andy Murray, he closed his eyes during changeovers, grabbing a towel as if it were a blanket. “I’m just taking a nap, I think,” Kyrgios said that day. “It’s good for you.”
Whether in the quiet room, during practice, or in the locker room, napping is an important part of the routine for many tennis stars at the U.S. Open.
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