This is everything tennis champion Rafa Nadal eats and drinks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

But the Spaniard is on the cusp of a first competition final since the beginning of the year.
In order to be the best he can be, he has to eat right.
And for Nadal, that means one key ingredient seafood.
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Rafa Nadal, a clay court master, is struggling to assert his dominance on the soft surface this season but is currently cruising through the Madrid Open, in Spain.

The 32-year-old has an 83% win record this season and since losing the 2019 Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, has yet to reach another tournament final.

On Saturday, he takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Madrid Open semi-final and, should he emerge triumphant, it will be his first final on clay this year but he will once again meet Djokovic in a competition's finale.

It is a far cry from his rampant successes last year, when he had already won two titles by May, went on to win the Italian Open, before scooping the French Open the clay major in June.

Victory against Tsitsipas and Djokovic, though, could spark a winning run ahead of the French Open this year, something Nadal will be determined to win again to add to his 17 Grand Slam championships to date.

One more major championship and he will close the gap on the all-time Grand Slam leader Roger Federer to just two titles.

But how does the superstar tennis player fuel his body?

It turns out that his diet is largely focused on one key ingredient.

Here's the kind of food Rafa Nadal likes to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This is Rafael Nadal, also known as the "King of Clay," as he has dominated tennis on the sports soft surface and won the French Open the clay major an extraordinary 11 times.

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Getty Images

In a tweet posted just before a US Open match in 2015, Nadal gave fans a glimpse at what a pre-match breakfast might look like. In the photograph below you can see large glasses with fruit juice alongside fresh bread rolls, olive oil, and Iberian ham.

Source: Twitter .

To eat right, one must prepare right and that, for Nadal, involves grocery shopping. Here he is checking out salad leaves, fresh cuts of meat, and cannoli an Italian pastry made from tube-shaped shells that are filled with spreads like ricotta or chocolate. All the essentials for an incredible lunch.

Source: Instagram

Nadals shopping basket will always, without fail, include fish. He was even asked for his ideal in-competition meal during a cooking demonstration with the chef Marcus Samuelsson in 2016, and, without skipping a beat, said: "Always seafood."

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Timolina/Shutterstock

Source: Forbes .

Nadal naturally pines for the Spanish dish paella. Apparently, its his mother who cooks it best. But paella does come with a warning. "Only sometimes, not every day," Nadal said. "You eat paella every day, you cannot play tennis."

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Flickr

Source: Forbes .

Other items in Nadals shopping basket include olives and chocolates. "I love eating olives. Theyre healthy, but maybe not if you eat as much as me," he once said. "And I like chocolate."

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Pixabay

Source: International Business Times .

Nadal is no stranger to the kitchen. This photo, posted to his Instagram account, shows him by a frying pan and a steamer. He asked his fans to guess what he was cooking, and most answers suggested fish (of course, what else?) with spinach.

Source: Instagram .

For dinner, Nadal likes Chinese food. "I love the shrimp dumplings," he said during a 2015 interview with Australian Open TV.

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Shun Horigome / EyeEm

Source: Australian Open TV .

Tennis is a physically demanding sport often played in tremendous heat, and so it is of the utmost importance to stay hydrated. On court, Nadal quenches his thirst with water and isotonic drinks.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Getty Images

But while Nadal certainly eats clean, he unwinds every now and then. A Bacardi ambassador in 2013, he has knocked back a cocktail or two from time to time and what better way to enjoy a drink than when its accompanied by a New York City skyline?

BusinessInsider USA Images

Getty Images

Here he is drinking more of the good stuff, this time in Miami Beach in Florida. Cheers!

BusinessInsider USA Images

Getty Images

This is everything tennis champion Rafa Nadal eats and drinks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

This is Rafael Nadal, also known as the "King of Clay," as he has dominated tennis on the sports soft surface and won the French Open the clay major an extraordinary 11 times.

In a tweet posted just before a US Open match in 2015, Nadal gave fans a glimpse at what a pre-match breakfast might look like. In the photograph below you can see large glasses with fruit juice alongside fresh bread rolls, olive oil, and Iberian ham.

Nadals shopping basket will always, without fail, include fish. He was even asked for his ideal in-competition meal during a cooking demonstration with the chef Marcus Samuelsson in 2016, and, without skipping a beat, said: "Always seafood."

Nadal naturally pines for the Spanish dish paella. Apparently, its his mother who cooks it best. But paella does come with a warning. "Only sometimes, not every day," Nadal said. "You eat paella every day, you cannot play tennis."

Other items in Nadals shopping basket include olives and chocolates. "I love eating olives. Theyre healthy, but maybe not if you eat as much as me," he once said. "And I like chocolate."

Nadal is no stranger to the kitchen. This photo, posted to his Instagram account, shows him by a frying pan and a steamer. He asked his fans to guess what he was cooking, and most answers suggested fish (of course, what else?) with spinach.

For dinner, Nadal likes Chinese food. "I love the shrimp dumplings," he said during a 2015 interview with Australian Open TV.

Tennis is a physically demanding sport often played in tremendous heat, and so it is of the utmost importance to stay hydrated. On court, Nadal quenches his thirst with water and isotonic drinks.

But while Nadal certainly eats clean, he unwinds every now and then. A Bacardi ambassador in 2013, he has knocked back a cocktail or two from time to time and what better way to enjoy a drink than when its accompanied by a New York City skyline?

Here he is drinking more of the good stuff, this time in Miami Beach in Florida. Cheers!

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