Jetlag and the Australian Open: How Tennis Players Battle Time Zones Before They Battle Each Other
Every January, as the tennis world descends on Melbourne for the Australian Open, there’s one opponent players face before they even hit the court: jetlag.
It’s a challenge most of us can relate to-staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m. after a long-haul flight, body clock completely out of sync. But for professional tennis players, there’s no time to ease into a new time zone. They’re expected to perform at the highest level, sometimes within hours of landing, in one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet.
“As tennis players, we don’t have a choice,” said Australian pro Tristan Schoolkate. The 22-year-old knows a thing or two about travel-he grew up in Perth, often called the most isolated major city in the world. “You just have to get on with it.”
Filipino player Alexandra Eala echoes that sentiment. “If you're on the tour, you're going to have jetlag.
The reality is you just have to deal with it,” she said. “If you are running on three or four hours of sleep, you are going to play.
You have to adjust.”
Jetlag: The Unseen Opponent
Tennis players might look superhuman on the court, but they deal with the same sleepless nights and groggy mornings as the rest of us-just with a lot more on the line. And considering the global nature of the sport, jetlag is a constant companion.
According to ATP data, male players traveled a combined 2.3 million kilometers during the 2024 season, competing in 29 countries across five continents. That’s a staggering amount of time in the air-and a serious test of both body and mind.
So how do they cope? Everyone has their own playbook.
Novak Djokovic, known for his meticulous approach to health and recovery, swears by overhydration during flights. His go-to?
Water infused with lemon, mint, and salt. Once he lands, he grounds himself-literally-by walking barefoot on natural surfaces, then takes a hot bath with Epsom salts.
Watching the sunrise the next morning is his way of resetting the internal clock.
Others lean on supplements. Herbal sleep aids made from ingredients like valerian, chamomile, and passionflower are common. Melatonin, the hormone naturally produced by the brain in response to darkness, is another popular option-but it doesn’t come without risk.
In 2024, six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek was handed a one-month ban after a contaminated melatonin supplement led to a failed doping test. A year earlier, Stefanos Tsitsipas blamed melatonin for feeling sluggish in a straight-sets loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open.
Swiatek has since gone back to basics. “Just waking up with the sun outside is honestly the best cure,” she said. Coming from the dark, grey European winter, the bright Australian summer does the trick.
Finding What Works
Of course, not everyone has the same routine-or the same results.
British No. 2 Cameron Norrie admitted he was wide awake at 3 a.m. upon arriving in Brisbane earlier this month.
“I was ready to go,” he said. “Didn’t help that there were Premier League matches on.
I was checking the scores, watching my fantasy players not perform. I was so annoyed I couldn’t fall back asleep.”
His new strategy? Muting goal notifications and putting the phone away at night.
Meanwhile, Francesca Jones takes a different approach. She stays awake for the entire 24-hour journey to Australia, embracing the exhaustion so she can crash hard and get on local time fast.
Spain’s Paula Badosa shocks her system awake with ice-cold water in the morning. And for Schoolkate, Melbourne’s famous coffee scene is a go-to.
“Caffeine is a must,” he said.
The Physical Toll of Travel
Jetlag isn’t just about sleep-it can also impact a player’s body in more serious ways.
According to sports scientist Stephen Smith, who works with Kitman Labs to monitor athlete wellness, disrupted circadian rhythms can lead to inflammation, dehydration, and even injury. “When players are showing up after long journeys where they haven’t slept well, they’re fatigued,” Smith explained.
“If they don’t have enough time to acclimatize, it increases the risk of injury. There’s also a reduction in mobility and range of motion.”
And not all players travel the same way. While top stars enjoy the comfort of lie-flat seats in first class, those further down the rankings often fly economy-where cramped quarters make recovery even tougher.
Schoolkate, currently ranked 97th in the world, knows that grind well. He recalled a rough turnaround last year, flying from India to the U.S. and landing just a day and a half before his opening match at Indian Wells.
“I was so fatigued,” he said. “I was starting to yawn, which is not ideal.
Then you’ve got the sun in your eyes and you’re not really adjusting.”
But like so many on tour, he didn’t have the luxury of skipping the match. With ranking points and prize money on the line, the show must go on-even when the body is screaming otherwise.
“We’re affected physically and mentally by jetlag,” Schoolkate said. “We’re trying to perform a tricky task-playing at the top level, hitting the ball in a certain spot.
It’s never easy. But long flights and time differences are part of the game.”
The Bottom Line
Jetlag doesn’t discriminate. Whether you’re a 24-time Grand Slam champion or a rising star grinding it out in economy class, the battle against the body clock is real. And in a sport where the margin between winning and losing can be razor-thin, how players manage that battle might just make all the difference.
As the Australian Open heats up, keep in mind: before the first serve is struck, many players have already fought-and are still fighting-a silent opponent. The question isn’t whether jetlag affects performance. It’s how well each player adapts.