'Miracle' man Ritschard fuelled by girlfriend's nutritional plan

Alexander Ritschard is powering through 2024 with a newfound edge, surging into the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time on Wednesday. Behind the scenes, a key figure has quietly transformed his approach.

The Swiss has been fuelled by a new nutritional programme, curated by his girlfriend, Kat Berglas. Ritschard, 30, has been dating Berglas for seven months, and in that short time, her expertise has helped him surge on the ATP Challenger Tour.

“She was the missing piece I kind of needed to do what I’m doing now,” Ritschard told ATPTour.com. “She’s really helped me a lot with my nutrition, helps me feel more fueled and feeling [better]. Since I’ve taken her tips, I feel very healthy.”

In April, Ritschard was as low as World No. 209. He has since claimed three of his four career Challenger titles, including one last week in Lisbon, Portugal, where Ritschard had courtside support from Berglas.

When Ritschard first met Berglas, he asked about her profession. Upon learning she was a nutritionist, he asked if she would be willing to help him and Berglas gladly agreed. She created a tailor-made nutritional plan.

“I can’t give away all the secrets,” Ritschard joked. “Everyone has a different body, different metabolism. For me personally, I’m someone who burns carbs very quickly and sweats a lot, so I have to eat a lot of carbohydrates and take in a lot of salts and drink a lot of fluids.

“She kind of has a whole programme for me. I eat a certain amount the day before, a certain amount the day of, I constantly eat when I play a match. My drink is a very heavy carbohydrate drink. Also, I’m eating a lot of bananas for the potassium and a lot of cereal bars for additional carbs. I’m just really, really carbing up and she keeps an eye on it.”

One of two players to make his Top 100 debut Wednesday (Jacob Fearnley), Ritschard’s path to where he is now took an unexpected turn in 2015, when a blocked artery in his right arm cut off blood flow. Ritschard, then a student-athlete at the University of Virginia, was working out when he felt a sharp sting in his shoulder.

What initially seemed minor quickly escalated, bringing Ritschard within minutes of potentially facing the unimaginable: the loss of his right arm.

“I can only go by what they told me, they said they had to make a decision within the next five minutes and it wasn’t opening. I guess I got lucky, it opened, and blood started flowing again,” Ritschard said last year.

Ritschard needed multiple operations to solve the issue. “One just to get the artery open, the second one to remove the problem, which was the rib that was too tight and then my lungs just filled with blood and I had to pump the blood out,” recalled Ritschard, who helped Virginia win three straight NCAA team titles.

Post-surgery limitations left Ritschard questioning his future in tennis. He contemplated if he would quit the sport after college. But now he is among an exclusive group, boasting a double-digit number next to his name in the PIF ATP Rankings at World No. 99.

Alexander Ritschard celebrates winning the Del Monte Lisboa Belém Open. Credit: Beatriz Ruivo/FPT

Ritschard has occasional check-up appointments to ensure everything stays normal with his right arm, and thankfully, there have been no issues. Just last month, the week before he won the Lisbon Challenger title, Ritschard felt his arm going numb while he was sleeping. But doctors put to bed any concern.

“That was just me sleeping funny,” Ritschard said. “At the check up, everything looked really, really good.”

When Ritschard steps foot on court, or in the doctor’s office, he is reminded of his incredible fortune to even be playing the sport he began at age five.

“I got really, really lucky. That’s really the only way I can put it,” Ritschard said. “Even now, I do a check up with the doctor who was part of the surgery and he always laughs when I walk in because he’s like, ‘Man, you are a miracle! This is crazy. I cannot believe you are able to do what you do with what we had to do’.

“It’s always funny seeing him, he feels very prideful because he’s like, ‘Yeah, I saved this guy!’”

Now, Ritschard is using that same arm — once at risk of being lost — to unleash heavy hitting from the baseline. What could have been a career-ending injury is instead a testament to Ritschard’s remarkable resilience.

In the form of his life, Ritschard is the oldest Top 100 debutant since October 2022, when Emilio Gomez achieved the milestone.

“I dreamt of being a Top 100 player since I was a kid,” Ritschard said. “So this for me is definitely a very special moment for sure.”

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