Nasal strips are the moment
Last year, doping was in. This year, dilating your nostrils is the new cheat code.
Nasalstripcaraz has been seen often this clay season sporting a nose strip at the ATP Finals in Turin, the Rotterdam Open, and the Italian Open. Carlos Alcaraz is currently the biggest player to bring these nasal strips mainstream, but other players in the Strip Club are Casper Ruud and Nicolás Jarry have also been seen wearing nasal strips to dilate their nostrils during matches.
However, Alcaraz wasn’t the first to popularize this breathing micro-optimization. Maria Sharapova dilated her nostrils at Wimbledon in 2019 with a skin color strip.
Of course, nasal strips are extremely popular for linemen in football, hockey players, and runners to get oxygen quickly in less-than-ideal weather environments.
In Alcaraz’s case, rumor has it he used a nasal strip to help with congestion during a cold, then it became a match hack, then it became a superstition. Though his wins and losses with nose strips are mixed, he did defeat No. 1 and emerging rival Jannik Sinner in Rome wearing one, giving lore to the strip.
Ruud’s nasal strip lore is he was just a victim to Instagram ads. I’m not sure about why Jarry started wearing one, but I don’t think that many people even know who Jarry is.
How nasal strips help your tennis game
Bottom line: a nasal strip gets you more airflow by lifting the sides of the nose. This improves your endurance and recovery in between points. Strips also help you stabilize your heart rate and keep you cool, calm, and collected when someone like Ben Shelton is serving 140 mph at you.
Oxygen is a currency during long points—which Alcaraz experiences often being an all-court aggressive player. When Alcaraz competes against other baseliners (a.k.a Sinner or Rublev) he frequently gets drawn into long rallies. This is especially true on clay or at Roland Garros where the ball is slower compared to hard courts where the ball moves faster and more points are won under four hits.
If you want to join the Strip Club, here are some Ball Boy approved nasal strips
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