If more tennis players find themselves breathing easier, it might just be thanks to Carlos Alcaraz.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has often worn a nasal strip in matches since last season and the sport’s other athletes took note. After all, if Alcaraz finds something useful on the court, their thinking goes, maybe it makes sense to give the adhesive bands a shot.

Once associated with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, the bands, which essentially look like a Band-Aid worn across the bridge of the nose, are popping up on tennis courts—sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of curiosity.

They are designed to open the nostrils slightly, making it easier to breathe through the nose. Originally marketed to reduce snoring, they’re being embraced to enhance air intake during physical exertion.

The idea is simple: Better breathing could mean better oxygen intake. In practice, the science is less convincing.

In 2021, Brazilian academic Ricardo Dinardi reviewed more than 600 studies on nasal strips and found they didn’t make a real difference in how much air athletes took in, their heart rate or how strenuous exercise felt.

“The effect on athletic performance is mostly placebo,” Dinardi said. “But in elite sports, even perceived benefits can count.”

For other players, like Nicolás Jarry, the strips are more than a trend—they’re a necessity. After nasal surgery in 2020, the Chilean still needed help to draw air into his nose, so he puts them on for every practice and every match he plays.

Jarry definitely has noticed a recent spike in interest among players. He said that even though he’s worn the strips for years, including at this French Open, other competitors on tour never asked about them—until Alcaraz started wearing one last year, sometimes in black, sometimes in pink.

There are those, like 2024 US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula, who are tempted to try.

“I have a horrible deviated septum. I can’t really breathe out of one side of my nose,” said Pegula. “Maybe I should start wearing one.”

She admits, though, that the aesthetic aspect might be a deal-breaker.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.