When Heat Cramps Your Style on Court: 6 Tips for Your Game

Tennis Identity—September 6, 2014

By now, everyone has seen or heard about the debilitating cramps that struck Peng Shuai Friday at the US Open, forcing her to retire from her semifinal match with Caroline Wozniacki.

Cramps can be very serious and should not be taken lightly. Ask Andy Murray about his USO Day 1 bout with them.

Pawel Wawrzyniak, Physical Therapist at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC offers these 6 tips on how to keep cramping risks to a minimum:

1. During tournaments that take place over consecutive days, it is essential that the player rehydrate during and after every match to avoid the cumulative loss of sodium that can happen through sweating. Electrolytes are particularly beneficial to take in and are commonly contained in sports drinks or in electrolyte tablets that can be easily mixed with water.
2. Improve physical conditioning to decrease muscle fatigue during the latter parts of the tennis match.
3. If possible the player should play practice matches in hot and humid conditions to acclimate.

This story originally appeared on tennisindentity.com.