Ana Ivanovic relies on good nutrition and the power of Juice Plus+ to stay at the top of her game

"You need good nutrition to be the best that you can be." 

At the age of 23, professional tennis star Ana Ivanovic has already experienced the greatest heights of her profession. Combining prodigious talent with a fierce work ethic, she reached the #1 Women’s Tennis Association ranking at the age of 20 – only to have to work her way back to the Top 20 a second time due to injuries. 

Ana started playing tennis when she was four, and received a racket as a present for her fifth birthday soon after. She memorized the number of a local tennis clinic from a television advertisement, and begged her parents to take her. 

Because Ana grew up in war-torn Belgrade, Serbia, she had some extra obstacles to overcome on her rapid march to the pinnacle of her sport’s performance. Ironically, she had to practice tennis at the bottom of an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, for example, since there were no other facilities available. 

"I also had to schedule my training sessions around NATO bombing raids," she recalls. It is from these challenging beginnings that she rose steadily and impressively to the ranking of #1 female tennis player in the world in 2008. She then battled back from injury to return to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Top 20 in 2010 and has remained ranked in the WTA Top 20 through 2013. 

"It never crossed my mind not to improve my strength and fight my way back to the top again," she admits. 

Asked about her recipe for recovery and her ultimate success, Anna responds, "It’s setting goals, working hard, and having the support of so many great people – my family, my management, and my coaches. Without them, it would never have been possible. They continually believed in me, and that improved my self-confidence." 

Ana also includes nutrition as part of that success recipe. "What you put into your body affects what you can do with your body," she explains. "That’s exceptionally important to me because I use my body to reach my professional goals.

"You need good nutrition to improve your performance, to be the best that you can be. 

"I always try to eat the right way," Ana continues. "I try to keep myself very disciplined – even when sometimes I have to fight against temptation," she shares. "But I travel a lot, and have a lot of demands on my time – so I can’t always eat the way I should. That’s why Juice Plus+® is so important." She’s been taking it since she was 15. 

Ana is not just a one-dimensional professional athlete. "I try to use my celebrity to help others," she shares. In 2007, she was named a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia. In 2009, she won the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award for her special interest and efforts in the fields of education and child protection. 

How does Ana avoid becoming distracted when playing in front of thousands of people in the stands – and millions on television? "I always have a song playing in my head during matches."