Diet is possibly more important than athletic training. If the player's inside is thrown off, it will affect their outside, no matter how many hours they put in the gym. Follow Your Sport revealed six unusual diets followed by some of tennis greats, past and present.
For one, legend says that Bjorn Borg was notorious for scarfing down burgers and a couple beers during tournaments, even doing so the night before big matches. Burgers weren't just a vice for Borg, but also Martina Navratilova in the beginning stages of her career. She ended up gaining 20 pounds due to her midnight cravings, before going on to dominate the tennis world after switching to stricter diet.
Playing this week in US Open qualifying was 38-year-old Patty Schnyder, who turned to orange juice and vegetarianism in her earlier years.
An even more prolific example is Novak Djokovic, who is known for following a very specific diet. Hegoes gluten free, removing most dairy products and almost all breads (even pasta and pizza). The 30-year-old has fallen in love with food and cooking so much that he once appeared on a cooking show during Wimbledon.