Written from firsthand experience with a deviated septum and checked against clinical sources. We make Ventriq Nasal Strips, so we are always upfront that a strip relieves symptoms rather than fixing the structural problem. Read our methodology or our editorial policy.
For tennis players, the best nasal strips are the ones built for sport: a firm spring that pulls the nasal valve open and an adhesive that survives a long, sweaty match in the sun. A strip will not change your fitness level or raise your VO2 max, but it lowers the resistance your nose creates on every breath, which makes nasal breathing far easier to hold onto between points and during the changeovers where you are trying to bring your heart rate back down. If your nose tends to collapse under hard effort, or you have a structural issue like a deviated septum, a strip compensates for that restriction before you even walk onto the court.
I started using nasal strips for sleep after a Consultant Otolaryngologist at a private hospital in Dublin diagnosed me with a significantly deviated septum and recommended septorhinoplasty. I played rugby for over a decade and my nose took plenty of damage along the way, broken more than once in collisions. I put the surgery off to keep playing, and I built Ventriq to give myself a way to breathe properly in the meantime. I noticed the difference at night first, then on the court. Anyone who has played a long tennis match will know the exact moment I mean: your nose cannot keep up during a tough rally, you switch to your mouth, and your breathing turns ragged just when you need to reset for the next point.
Why Nasal Breathing Matters in Tennis
Tennis is a stop start sport. Points last anywhere from a few seconds to over a minute of hard running, then you get a short gap before the next serve, and a longer break at each changeover. Your aerobic system is what recovers your heart rate and clears fatigue during those gaps, and how you breathe has a direct effect on how ready you are for the next point.
Nasal breathing slows your breathing rate, warms and humidifies the air before it reaches your lungs, and triggers a calmer autonomic response than mouth breathing. The nose also produces nitric oxide as air passes through it. Nitric oxide acts as a bronchodilator and a vasodilator, which means nasal breathing helps open your airways and relax your blood vessels, improving oxygen uptake at a tissue level. When you are forced onto your mouth because your nose cannot move enough air, you lose all of that, right when you most need to settle yourself before the next serve.
The catch is that the nose struggles to move enough air at very high intensity. Part of that is a normal physical limit everyone shares. But for people with a structural issue it is worse. A deviated septum reduces the cross sectional area of one nasal passage, and combined with the nasal cycle, where the tissue inside your nose alternates which side is more congested on a roughly four hour rotation, the restricted side can feel almost completely blocked during a long, hot match.
How Nasal Strips Help Tennis Players
A nasal strip works on the outside of the nose. It spans the lower cartilage and uses a spring action to lift the lateral nasal wall outward, widening the internal diameter at the nasal valve. The nasal valve is the narrowest point in your entire airway, and it is the same spot that pinches inward if you press gently on the side of your nose while breathing in hard.
For a tennis player with a deviated septum, the strip helps most on the side where the deviation crowds the valve area. For a player with no structural issue, the main benefit is stopping dynamic valve collapse, where the cartilage gets pulled inward under heavy breathing load during a long baseline rally. In both cases the practical payoff in tennis shows up between points and at changeovers, when holding nasal breathing keeps you calmer and helps you reset before your next service game.
I use the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips for training and matches. They are stiffer than a standard sleep strip, built to stay put through sweat, and the adhesive holds through a full match without peeling at the edges. That matters in tennis, where a match can run well over two hours in full sun, and a weak strip will lift off long before the third set.
What to Look for in a Tennis Nasal Strip
Not all nasal strips are built the same, and for tennis a few things actually matter:
- Adhesive strength: standard strips give up as soon as you sweat. You need a strip made for sport, with an adhesive designed to grip wet skin through a long match in the heat.
- Spring tension: more tension means more lift and a more open airway. A soft strip made for sleep will not give you the same airflow under a heavy breathing load during a baseline battle.
- Fit and position: a strip that sits too high on the bony part of your nose does nothing. It has to sit across the lower cartilage where the nasal valve is.
- Skin tolerance: if you are training most days and playing matches at the weekend, you want a strip that does not leave your skin raw after you peel it off between sessions.
I have tried a lot of strips over the years. Most were fine for sleep but failed the moment sweat and sun cream got involved. The Ventriq Sport strip holds better and keeps lifting the airway open through a full three set match.
Does It Actually Improve Performance?
I will be straight about this. The research on nasal strips producing measurable performance gains in trained athletes is mixed. Some studies show small improvements in perceived effort and breathing efficiency. Others show no meaningful change in VO2 max or power output under laboratory conditions. A strip is a breathing aid, not an engine upgrade.
What I can tell you from my own experience is that the subjective difference is real. Breathing through your nose between points feels less effortful and less drying on a hot court, and it is easier to hold your composure and your service rhythm when you are not gasping through your mouth. Whether that turns into measurable output on the scoreboard depends on the player and the situation. If you want the deeper look at the evidence, I have covered it in Boost Your Workout: How Nasal Strips Enhance Athletic Performance, Benefits of Nasal Strips for Sport and Do Nasal Strips Improve Athletic Performance.
Nasal Strips if You Have a Deviated Septum
If you have a deviated septum and you play tennis regularly, nasal strips are probably more useful for you than for the average player. You are starting every match with your airway already restricted, so anything that gives part of that width back levels the field a little, especially during long rallies in the heat. External strips work best when the restriction sits at the nasal valve rather than deep inside the nasal cavity, which is a common pattern after any knock to the nose. I have written more on this in Best Nasal Strips for a Deviated Septum.
If your breathing also wrecks your sleep and slows your recovery after a tournament weekend, How to Sleep Better with a Deviated Septum covers what has worked for me overnight.
My Recommendation
For tennis, get the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips. They were built for sport and they stay on through a long match in the sun. If your main need is breathing and recovering better overnight after a big match or a tournament, the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips are the right pick for bedtime, and plenty of players use both: sport strips for training and matches, sleep strips overnight. If you cross train, the same thinking applies to running and cycling, and if your other sport is more physical I have covered football and rugby too. If a hard weekend of matches leaves you snoring at night, have a look at Do Nasal Strips Stop Snoring and Best Nasal Strips for Sleeping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are nasal strips allowed in tennis?
Yes. Nasal strips are a mechanical breathing aid with no drug action, so they are not on any WADA prohibited list, and nothing in the ITF, ATP or WTA rules bans them. You will see professional players wearing them on court.
Can I wear a nasal strip during a match?
Yes, but most sleep strips are not made for sweaty skin and will start peeling within the first set. A sport specific strip uses a stronger adhesive built to hold on wet skin through a long match in the heat.
Where exactly should I place a nasal strip?
Position it across the fleshiest part of your nose, over the lower cartilage rather than the bone. If you feel the spring tension lifting your nostrils when you breathe in, it is in the right place. Sit it too high and it does nothing.
Do nasal strips help with long rallies in tennis?
They help you keep breathing through your nose for longer, which makes the gaps between points and the changeovers feel calmer and less rushed. They will not raise your aerobic ceiling, but reducing airway resistance can make your breathing more efficient during the long baseline exchanges where a match is often decided.
Do I need a deviated septum for nasal strips to work?
No. Dynamic nasal valve collapse, where the side of the nose pulls inward under hard breathing, is common even in people with a perfectly straight septum. A strip prevents that collapse and improves airflow either way.
Will a nasal strip stay on during a long match in the sun?
A quality sport strip is designed to hold through sweat and sun cream for a full match, including a long three set battle. If conditions are very hot and sweaty, wiping the skin clean and dry before you apply it will help it grip for the whole match.
