Published on
Updated
Reading 2 min.
Recent winner of Rafael Nadal and 4th player in the world, the German player Alexander Zverev has suffered from diabetes since the age of three. How to overcome this illness to become a champion?
At 27, Alexander Zverev is one of the new sensations taking over tennis today. Already 4th player in the world in the rankings and in great shape at Roland Garros, he has just knocked Rafael Nadal out of the clay court tournament. An already impressive performance, even before knowing a detail about the player: he has type 1 diabetes.
“I always have my insulin pen with me”
Alexander Zverev was actually diagnosed with diabetes at the age of three and a half, which he admitted in an interview in 2022. This disease is characterized by the presence of excess sugar in the blood and can be restrictive because the insulin injections are daily. It actually forces the player to adapt throughout their efforts and competitions. But she obviously did not deprive him of his strength.
“I have the player in my snowshoe bag. The ATP authorizes me to use it (…) I control myself every time I change sides. I don’t have an insulin pump, I give the injections myself. I always have my insulin pen with me“, he explained to the daily l’Equipe two years ago.
Injections that can create confusion
If the ATP allows the player to inject his doses of insulin in order to play, this particularity can sometimes create confusion on the courts and embarrass Zverev. At Roland Garros in 2023, the supervisor of one of his matches was unaware of his medical condition, forcing the German to give his injections off the court, in toilet breaks (pee breaks allowed). ).
But only one break being allowed in the match, the German had to make things clear:
“I offered them to let me out for five seconds or better, on the court. They said to me: ‘No, it will be weird…’ It doesn’t make much sense. But if I don’t use my insulin pen, I’m putting myself in danger. They kept saying it was weird. So I had to raise my voice. “What’s the problem? Do you think I’m doping?”
A problem which seems to have disappeared this year, undoubtedly thanks to better knowledge of the disease (and the player’s transparent speeches).
Going beyond the limits of illness
With his place and his ranking, Alexander Zverev is living proof that diabetes does not always lock the patient into his illness. In August 2022, the young man had already opened a foundation in Hamburg, “to help children suffering from type 1 diabetes and help people prevent possible type 2 diabetes. But above all to show the world that we should not set limits because of this disease“.
Limits, that’s a word that seems to irritate the athlete. In another interview given this time to the media Tennis Magazinethe athlete also answered a question about diabetes.
“I am not limited. I think if you’re well-adjusted, if you’ve had diabetes from a young age like I have, you manage. You just have to adjust your body to live with it.”
Great mental strength and an example to follow.