London (CNN)Travel broadens the mind, they say, but for the world's top tennis players it has become more of a necessary evil.
For 11 months in the year -- one of the longest in professional sports -- players criss-cross the globe in search of those elusive ranking points and prize money. Most have a travel schedule that would make even the most hardened frequent flyer shudder, dashing in and out of cities on a weekly basis.
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Kei Nishikori: Stay hydrated and try to sleep on long flights Sam Stosur: Stay awake as long as you can on the first night Elena Svitolina: Stick to the local time straight away Barbora Strycova: Do some gentle exercise after arriving
Garcia's Doha nightmare The award for travel horror story of the year surely has to go to France's Caroline Garcia, who told the WTA website this month how she accidentally locked herself out of Doha Airport with no money earlier in the season.
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"I went out of the airport, and couldn't get in again," said Garcia, the reigning French Open doubles champion. "I couldn't go back through security and customs, so I was stuck for 14 hours, sitting on a chair. I had no money, no credit card, or anything. "It was just a nightmare; I missed my flight, obviously. I had to buy a ticket, which was complicated, because I had no credit card. I'm laughing about it now, but I was really upset at the time! I was all by myself, so it wasn't funny at all." Read: The real Rafa Nadal
Rafa is a nervous flyer Rafael Nadal has been traveling the world since he was 15 years old, but the nine-time French Open winner can still get jumpy when the turbulence sign comes on. "I am nervous flyer," he told CNN in 2013. Although the Spaniard said his hands usually "start to sweat" during rough conditions, the in-flight entertainment will usually calm his nerves. Known for his meticulous match preparation, Nadal is no less demanding when it comes to hotels: "The most important thing is have the room completely clean and good service," he said. But he likes to cut it fine when it comes to getting to the airport. "I am always late," he said, adding he's never missed a flight because of it. Read: Stan Smith -- Tennis legand, sneaker icon
Business or economy? After Kvitova won the Zhuhai title, she flew back to Prague in business class before driving to Strasbourg with the Czech Fed Cup team for the finals against France. Her long journey was rewarded with a third straight Fed Cup title. Although most players travel business class on longer flights, former world No. 1 Venus Williams has been known to "punish" herself by traveling at the back of the plane. In 2008, she flew from Europe to the US in economy after an early loss at the French Open.
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Her verdict: "I was extremely comfortable and happy. I sat next to an opera singer." Elena Svitolina prefers to travel business class -- but only if the flight is longer than five hours. "That's because of my back issues," said the Ukrainian, who ended Serena Williams' reign as Olympic champion in the first round of the Rio Games. "It's kind of like an investment in myself because if I am going to be in economy it is going to affect my health and it's not so good." READ: Want your kid to become a tennis player? Get your wallet
'JET-KEI' Although top players such as Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Serena Williams often use private jets for shorter flights, none of them can lay claim to having their picture emblazoned on a huge aircraft. READ: Roger Federer, a tennis genius by the numbers Kei Nishikori can. After signing a sponsorship deal with Japan Airlines, his image is now featured on a Boeing 777-300ER dubbed "JET-KEI." "I am very lucky," the world No. 5 said in an email. "My sponsor provides me with a great business-class experience every time I travel to Asia. On the shorter trips I often just pick the easiest flight. Since we often make last-minute bookings (right after I lose) it means flying economy from time to time, which is really not a big deal when the flights are short." Have your say on our Facebook page
'My jet's full' Federer, the sport's biggest money maker with total career earnings including sponsorships of $560 million according to Forbes, has used private jets for years. Asked in 2013 if he ever offered any of his rivals a ride, the father-of-four said: "I gave Rafa and his girlfriend a lift once, from Canada to Cincinnati. But no, my jet's full. You don't want to be on my jet with my kids."
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After 17 years on the Tour, Stosur knows what works and what doesn't. "For a long-haul flight, I will always go business class now," the 32-year-old says. "As soon as I started doing well on tour and made enough money, I said I'm going to fly business class if it's a long flight because it really does help. But domestic flights or shorter flights, economy I don't mind, it's no problem. Visit cnn.com/tennis for more news and videos "Over the years, you learn the airlines that you like and who you want to travel with and who you want to fly with more than others," she adds. "You get very experienced, I think tennis players could be very good travel agents one day."
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