Match recovery. What to do, and when.

A five-checkpoint protocol for the 48 hours after you compete. Built from the routines I run with players on tour, stripped back so you can use the structure yourself. Nothing here is new information. What matters is the order and the timing, and one question decides most of it: when do you play next?

A sequencing problem, not an information problem.

Most athletes already know the tools: ice baths, compression, a massage gun, a protein shake. What gets missed is the order. Recovery works like a pyramid. Sleep, food and fluids do most of the work at the base. Water immersion, active recovery and bodywork support it. The gadgets sit at the top, and they do the least.

This protocol takes that pyramid and puts it on a clock, from the moment you walk off to 48 hours later. Follow the checkpoints in order and make one call at the 24-hour mark based on your schedule, not habit.

The pyramid, base first

• Foundation: sleep and mental recovery, then nutrition and hydration
• Support: water immersion, active recovery and bodywork
• Additions: compression, electrical stimulation, massage gun, foam roller
• Work from the base up. The top only adds anything once the base is solid

When this isn't the plan

This protocol is for normal post-match fatigue and soreness. If you finished with pain that changes how you move, a new injury, swelling, or any head-knock symptoms, get assessed first. Recovery routines don't treat injuries.

The one question that governs everything

When do you play next?

Everything from the evening onwards changes with the gap to your next match. A short gap means you need to feel fresh. A longer gap gives you room to sleep well, get proper bodywork and let the body adapt. Pick your gap and it tells you which branch you're on.

Time until your next match

Choose how long you have until your next match, and this tells you which branch of the protocol you are on from the evening onwards.

Under 72h · Freshness first

Cold water, light flushing work, low-intensity sport-specific movement. Nothing new or experimental.

72h+ · Recover properly

Heat over cold, a full bodywork session, and time to deal with anything you flagged.

Any gap · Sleep wins

Whatever the schedule, the night after the match is the checkpoint you protect above everything else.

The protocol

Five checkpoints. Final point to 48 hours.

Each checkpoint has a job, a few things to avoid, and a simple test of whether it's done. Work through them in order. If you miss one, pick up at the next rather than trying to catch up.

Off court

T+0–30 min · start the clock

Do

• Start drinking straight away. Fluids first, food second
• A few minutes of easy walking rather than sitting straight down
• Write down anything that felt off during the match while it is fresh

Avoid

Sitting still for hours, waiting until you feel thirsty, or deciding a niggle "was nothing" before you have written it down.

Done when

Fluids going in, you are moving, and any niggle is written down.

Where a clinician earns their keep

A note made twenty minutes after the match is more accurate than one remembered the next morning. It is the most useful thing to bring to an assessment.

That evening

T+2–4 hours · replace what you lost

Do

• A proper recovery meal: 20–40g protein plus carbohydrate matched to how hard the match was
• Electrolytes as well as water after a long match or in the heat
• Light, flushing soft tissue work or foam rolling if it is available

Avoid

Deep tissue work tonight, or letting the recovery meal turn into a snack.

Done when

A real meal eaten, fluids back on track, and your water-immersion call made using the gap to your next match.

Where a clinician earns their keep

Sweat and sodium losses vary a lot between players. Weighing yourself before and after a session in the heat once gives you your own numbers for the season.

That night

T+6–9 hours · protect sleep

Do

• Screens off 60 minutes before bed, including match footage
• A 20–30 minute brain dump before bed: tasks, results, tomorrow, then leave the list
• The same wind-down routine at home or in a hotel, and 7–9 hours in bed

Avoid

Match review or tactical discussion in the last hour before sleep.

Done when

In bed at a consistent time with the wind-down done.

Where a clinician earns their keep

If sleep is repeatedly poor after matches, it is usually the evening routine or the travel timing rather than the athlete. That is worth planning around the schedule.

Next morning

T+12–16 hours · reset and reassess

Do

• 20–30 minutes of daylight within the first hour
• 6–10 minutes of easy walking or cycling
• Check yesterday’s note and keep protein spread across the day

Avoid

Turning it into a training session, or ignoring something that is still there twelve hours later.

Done when

Moving freely, and anything flagged has either settled or is booked in to be looked at.

Where a clinician earns their keep

Something still present twelve hours on is often the difference between fatigue and a problem. This is the point to get it assessed rather than play through it.

Building back

T+24–48 hours · branch on your schedule

Do

• Under 72 hours to your next match: cold water and light sport-specific movement
• More than 72 hours: heat, a full bodywork session and enjoyable active recovery
• Adjuncts whenever convenient. They are not a checkpoint of their own

Avoid

Anything new or experimental before a match, and cold water in the 1–6 hours before you need power.

Done when

Ready for the next session or match, or a clear plan for anything you flagged.

Where a clinician earns their keep

Which branch you are on is really a scheduling decision. On tour that call gets made around the draw, the travel and practice court times, which is where an individual plan pays for itself.

Where your time goes

The pyramid, with the numbers.

The checkpoints tell you when. This tells you how much. Spend your effort from the top of this list down. The first two are the base of the pyramid, and nothing lower down makes up for missing them.

Sleep

Checkpoints 3–4

• 7–9 hours on a consistent schedule, within a 30–60 minute window
• Screens off an hour before bed
• A short brain dump to quiet the mind
• Morning daylight to reset your clock, especially after travel

Priority

Non-negotiable. If you only take one thing from this page, take this.

Fuel and fluids

Checkpoints 1, 2 and 4

• Fluids straight after the match, before food
• 20–40g of protein every 3–4 hours, including breakfast
• Carbohydrate matched to how hard the day was
• Electrolytes for sessions over 60–90 minutes or in the heat

Priority

Non-negotiable. Keep a small travel kit so the road never breaks the pattern.

Water immersion

Checkpoints 2 and 5

• Cold, 10–15°C for 5–15 min, when the next match is close
• Hot, 38–42°C for 20–40 min in the evening, when there is time
• Contrast, about 1-minute blocks up to 15 min, mid-tournament
• Pool, 32–36°C for 15–20 min, for movement without load

Priority

Match the method to the gap until your next match, not to habit.

Movement and bodywork

Checkpoints 4–5

• 6–10 minutes of easy cycling or walking
• 15–20 minutes of mobility for hips, thoracic spine and shoulders
• Light flushing work near competition, deeper work in recovery windows
• Something enjoyable and low-pressure on a longer gap

Priority

Supports the base. It does not replace sleep or fuel.

What you are checking

Four signals, read together.

You don't need equipment to know whether the 48 hours went well. Track these four, and watch the direction they're moving rather than any single reading.

Sleep

Hours in bed and how close you stayed to your usual window. The first thing to slip on the road and the first thing to check.

Target: 7–9h, consistent timing

Hydration

Urine colour through the day, and bodyweight before and after the match to see how much you actually lost.

Target: pale, losses replaced

Yesterday’s note

Anything you flagged straight after the match, checked again the next morning. Improving, the same, or worse.

Target: gone or improving by 12h

Readiness

How ready you feel to train, out of ten, first thing each morning. One number, same time, every day.

Target: trending up across 48h

Print and fill in

Adjuncts help at the edges. The sequence is the recovery.

Worth it

Compression boots

15–30 minutes in the evening while you rest. Mostly about how fresh your legs feel rather than big measurable changes, and that still counts across a long week.

Worth it

Foam rolling

Cheap, portable and works anywhere. A short, slow pass per muscle group helps you feel looser in the short term. It supports the routine rather than being the routine.

Worth it

Massage gun

Handy for a quick pass over tight areas in a hotel room or courtside. Keep it brief and comfortable. More pressure is not better.

Situational

Electrical stimulation

Some athletes find it helps them relax and feel recovered. Fine in downtime, but it sits alongside the base of the pyramid, not instead of it.

Avoid

Cold right before you play

Cold water in the 1–6 hours before you need power output can take the edge off it. Save it for the evening before, not the morning of.

Avoid

Gadgets over sleep

No device makes up for five hours of sleep or an empty tank. If time is short, spend it at the base of the pyramid.

The evidence in one line

Cold water immersion reliably reduces soreness and helps performance recover over the following days, which is why it earns its place when the next match is close. Used routinely during training blocks, it can blunt the adaptations you are training for, which is why it gives way to heat and time when the schedule allows.

Then keep it simple

Expert consensus on athletes puts sleep at the centre of recovery, and sports nutrition position stands say the same about fuelling and protein across the day. The routine that holds up in a hotel room on the other side of the world beats the perfect routine you can only do at home.

Make it yours

A protocol gets you through a match. A plan gets you through a season.

This is the generic version. The athletes I work with get the same structure built around their draw, their travel and their match schedule, adjusted day by day with the rest of their programme. If you want that, get in touch.

This guide is general education, not individual medical advice. It assumes normal post-match fatigue and soreness in a healthy athlete. If you have an injury, a medical condition, or symptoms that change how you move, get assessed by a qualified clinician before following it.

References

• Walsh NP, Halson SL, Sargent C, et al. Sleep and the Athlete: Narrative Review and 2021 Expert Consensus Recommendations. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021.
• Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2016.
• Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017.
• Versey NG, Halson SL, Dawson BT. Water Immersion Recovery for Athletes: Effect on Exercise Performance and Practical Recommendations. Sports Medicine, 2013.
• Moore E, Fuller JT, Buckley JD, et al. Impact of Cold-Water Immersion Compared with Passive Recovery Following a Single Bout of Strenuous Exercise on Athletic Performance in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Meta-regression. Sports Medicine, 2022.
• Roberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al. Post-exercise Cold Water Immersion Attenuates Acute Anabolic Signalling and Long-term Adaptations in Muscle to Strength Training. Journal of Physiology, 2015.
• McGorm H, Roberts LA, Coombes JS, Peake JM. Turning Up the Heat: An Evaluation of the Evidence for Heating to Promote Exercise Recovery, Muscle Rehabilitation and Adaptation. Sports Medicine, 2018.
• Bieuzen F, Bleakley CM, Costello JT. Contrast Water Therapy and Exercise Induced Muscle Damage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS One, 2013.
• Dupuy O, Douzi W, Theurot D, Bosquet L, Dugué B. An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Physiology, 2018.
• Wiewelhove T, Döweling A, Schneider C, et al. A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foam Rolling on Performance and Recovery. Frontiers in Physiology, 2019.