"My coach told me bananas are secret to winning, I hate bananas" admits Shapovalov
ATP
Denis Shapovalov has burst onto the ATP scene in recent years and established himself as a Top-20 challenger recently, but in a humorous interview, he revealed that one aspect of his regime hasn't contributed to his rise.
Shapovalov only turned professional in 2017, but he has become a household name in the ATP's Top 50 in recent years. The young Canadian player has impressed in the last two seasons, reaching Grand Slam quarter-finals at the US Open and Australian Open and making the Wimbledon semi-final in the last two years.
In addition, the 23-year-old has enjoyed a strong 2022 season so far. He began the campaign ranked 14th in the ATP standings and has added an ATP Cup victory in January and a semi-final run at the Dubai Championships in February.
Undoubtedly, it takes a lot of discipline and hard work to remain at the level Shapovalov has displayed recently. However, when speaking to the official ATP website, the Canadian shared one area of his nutrition that he has absolutely no time for - bananas.
"It’s always been bananas for me, unfortunately, I hate bananas! My coach growing up, Adriano, told me that it’s a big secret to winning, having a banana. I’ve followed it since that day, even though I hate it."
"I’ve never liked them. I think the hatred grew out of me always eating them. So we’ll have bananas at the house all the time, but I’ll never touch them, and I’ve never wanted to."
Bananas have long been a popular energy source for athletes, and many tennis players eat this fruit in between games and sets for energy boosts, a potassium hit, and to absorb much-needed nutrients.
Despite his hatred of bananas, Shapovalov, who is currently preparing for the upcoming Mallorca Championships, stated that he has grown to tolerate the fruit following a bad experience with energy gels earlier in his career.
"I tried to look into more nutrition and what I could be having out on court, gels and stuff like that. But early on in my career, I got a little bit sick with food poisoning from a gel, so I went back to bananas!"
