Tennis great Raphael Nadal swears by breakfast with nutrient-packed tiny fish
Rafael Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion and one of the most successful tennis players of all time, recently revealed that his go-to breakfast is toast with anchovies.
Nadal, who retired in 2024, told The Wall Street Journal that he started incorporating anchovies into his morning meal while he was still a professional athlete.
"I was not a breakfast guy," Nadal said. "But later on in my career with the nutritionist [I learned] you have to eat some protein, some carbs."
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Anchovies are saltwater fish that average about five or six inches in length and are typically preserved in salt and packed in olive oil. They have long been a staple of Mediterranean cooking, particularly in Nadal's native Spain.
They have grown in popularity in the U.S. in recent years, along with other seafood in the tinned-fish category, as Americans increasingly seek healthy, convenient foods.
"Anchovies are an absolute nutritional dynamo," Sudi Pigott, a London-based anchovy sommelier and author of "Consider the Anchovy: A Journey in Pursuit of the Little Fish with the Big Flavour," told Fox News Digital.
They are "surprisingly high in protein" for their size, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They're also "packed with nutrients" and are "among the best fish sources of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of healthy fat your body needs to work well," according to the medical institution.
Research has linked diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids to a lower risk of age-related macular degeneration, Pigott said.
"Eating anchovies regularly may also reduce triglyceride levels, slow the buildup of plaque in one's arteries and reduce blood pressure, as well as [lower the] risk of blood clotting," she said.
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Additionally, anchovies are a plentiful source of B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium and zinc. They also contain selenium, a powerful antioxidant, she added.
Health experts recommend people keep in mind that anchovies typically contain a lot of salt and to eat them in moderation if sodium consumption is a concern.
The global tinned-fish market size is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.18% between 2026 and 2031, market research firm Mordor Intelligence reported.
The demand for convenience foods that are not processed is also influencing consumer demand toward tinned fish, the company reported.
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TikTok interest in tinned fish increased by 91% between 2024 and 2025, Vogue reported. The boom is due in part to new companies like the Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co. that have emerged and rebranded tinned fish in trendy, chic ways.
"For years, tinned fish had one reputation: bland, dry, back-of-the-pantry food," declared a Fishwife TikTok post explaining how the company became "one of the fastest-growing seafood brands in America."
Sustainable seafood advocate Casson Trenor recommends choosing species known as hikari-mono, a Japanese term for silver-skinned fish.
"This includes mackerels, sardines, anchovies and more," Trenor, who lives in Washington state, told Fox News Digital. "These are fast-growing nutritional powerhouses that are generally low in mercury."
Pigott said she sometimes eats anchovies for breakfast, either on toast with plenty of butter or on a cheese scone.
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"Another good way to eat anchovies for breakfast would be with scrambled eggs," she said.
An old-fashioned British dish she recommended is Scotch Woodcock, which calls for "a layer of anchovy paste or anchovy butter to be spread on hot toast, topped with scrambled egg and finished with a couple of fine, whole, salt-cured anchovies in oil."
Anchovy spread can be rolled into a log shape and kept in the refrigerator, Pigott said. Her book also contains recipes that incorporate anchovies into salad dressings, pastas and many other dishes.
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"Eating anchovies does make you thirsty, and I wouldn't suggest eating too many at any one time," Pigott said.
