The 29-year-old German has Type 1 diabetes, which requires him to monitor his glucose levels and, if needed, inject insulin during matches.
Zverev, who won the French Open and is seeking back-to-back Grand Slam titles, uses an insulin pen when needed to jab the top of his thigh during changeovers on court.
Here's some more information about Zverev and the disease.
Zverev was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 4
Zverev disclosed in 2022 that he has Type 1 diabetes, having been diagnosed at age 4. He had previously kept it quiet. If he needed an insulin jab during a match, he'd do it privately during bathroom breaks.
The announcement coincided with him launching a foundation, to help children in particular.
“If we as a foundation, and me just as a tennis player and somebody who has diabetes, can help even just a single kid or a single parent, I’ll be the happiest person in the world,” Zverev said after an early-round victory at Wimbledon. “There’s a lot of great athletes, there’s a lot of actors, musicians, who have diabetes. It shows that with diabetes there shouldn’t be any limits.”
Glucose sensor problem at tournament
At a Wimbledon warmup event in Halle, Germany, Zverev said his glucose sensor gave him an incorrect reading at his semifinal match against Taylor Fritz. Because it showed falsely high levels, he accidentally injected too much insulin.
When he figured out the problem, Zverev consumed 350 grams of sugar through glucose gels in the first hour of the match to normalize his blood sugar levels. He reported feeling “awful" and lost the match in three sets.
“The company’s investigating it, looking into it,” he said at a pre-Wimbledon press conference, referring to the firm that makes the sensor. “I’ve been using it for 10-plus years. This is the first time ever it happened."
The sensors are life changing, he noted.
“Those things are still very, very useful for a diabetic, make the life of a diabetic much easier than without them,” he added. “It was very unfortunate for me that it happened, but I think as a product, it still is very helpful for millions of diabetes patients.”
Zverev has permission from Grand Slam tournaments, the All England Club confirmed, to use his phone during matches to check his glucose levels. His sensor relays readings to the phone so that Zverev doesn't need to do finger-prick blood tests. Otherwise, phones are not allowed on court.
Other high-profile athletes with Type 1 diabetes
NHL Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke played his whole career with Type 1 diabetes, and current NHL player Max Domi also has the chronic disease.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, diagnosed in childhood, frequently checks his blood sugar levels during games.
Former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in his mid-20s, as was Olympic champion swimmer Gary Hall Jr.
See a list of sports people with diabetes here
Advocates say visibility is important, and not just in sports.
A year ago, Mattel introduced its first Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes. She wears a continuous glucose monitor — to track blood sugar levels — on her arm while holding a phone displaying an accompanying app...see here
Facts about Type 1 diabetes
It was once called “juvenile diabetes” because it most often occurs in children and teenagers. An estimated 9.2 million people have Type 1 diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that with the disease, “your pancreas doesn’t make insulin or makes very little insulin. Insulin helps blood sugar enter the cells in your body for use as energy. Without insulin, blood sugar can’t get into cells and builds up in the bloodstream.” Insulin shots are required to manage the blood sugar levels.
Advocates say visibility is important, and not just in sports.
A year ago, Mattel introduced its first Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes. She wears a continuous glucose monitor — to track blood sugar levels — on her arm while holding a phone displaying an accompanying app...see here
Facts about Type 1 diabetes
It was once called “juvenile diabetes” because it most often occurs in children and teenagers. An estimated 9.2 million people have Type 1 diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that with the disease, “your pancreas doesn’t make insulin or makes very little insulin. Insulin helps blood sugar enter the cells in your body for use as energy. Without insulin, blood sugar can’t get into cells and builds up in the bloodstream.” Insulin shots are required to manage the blood sugar levels.
Above article seen here
I'll be back later with a post edit of the final result!
* Post edit Sinner beat Zverev * All the best Jan
29 comments:
I'm just about to start watching the match just now. Thanks for the update, I didn't know that about Zverev.
Diabetes awareness and education are very important, especially now, I feel, with so many folks overweight. I think people tend to leave it to those with the condition.
May
Boa noite minha querida amiga Jan. Fiz recentemente, um hemograma, fiz um exame no ano passado, e graças a Deus, não tenho nenhum problema de diabetes. Uma excelente noite de domingo, bom início de semana e um grande abraço do seu amigo carioca.
That's good of him to use his popularity like that.
My daughter is Type 1 and I love hearing stories like this. I'm so impressed with athletes like this!
Thank you so much for sharing this information, dear Jan! Yes, many celebrities are coping with Diabetes and it's always a good thing to spread awareness, it can help many other people!
I hope you have a great week ahead, dear friend.
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
Luiz Gomes said...
Boa noite minha querida amiga Jan. Fiz recentemente, um hemograma, fiz um exame no ano passado, e graças a Deus, não tenho nenhum problema de diabetes. Uma excelente noite de domingo, bom início de semana e um grande abraço do seu amigo carioca
Good evening, my dear friend Jan. I recently had a blood count done—I also had a test last year—and thank God, I don't have any issues with diabetes. Wishing you a wonderful Sunday evening and a great start to the week. A big hug from your friend from Rio.
Great information Jan, thank you for sharing that and have a great week :) All the best, Denise :)
Gracias por la información. Te mando un beso.
This is good information. Thank you.
...good for him!
It been ages since I paid any attention to Tennis.
I didn't know Zyverev has type 1 diabetes -Christine cmkk79.bkogspot.com
Sad that there is more and more sugar, but that's just how we live, unhealthy unfortunately... healthy stuff just doesn't sell anymore, unless you have your own garden :))
Kiss, Andreja!
Thanks for this important information.
Thank you so much for sharing this information, jan!
beautiful start tothe week,hugs Elke
I am pleased he is happy to go public with being a type 1. I only wish people understood the difference between type 1 and type 2.
He's spreading the word on this disease which is good. I read a similar article before coming to your blog, Jan. Must sometimes be hard to control whether playing sport or not when the devices are not working correctly.
Muy interesante, desconocía esto de este deportista, en realidad es otra dificultad que ya controla y que aprovecha para difundir.
Feliz semana.
Saludos Cordiales.
Oh my goodness. My Niece was 5 when diagnosed with diabetis 1.
She´s now doing well, turning 16 next month. She´s a sportive girl.
Her parents were devastated, took lessons, had to organise someone who helped her at school, cause at that age no way she could manage. It was frustrating - now all good :-) Well, "good"...
Can it be cause her maternal Grandmother was very much overweight and had diabetis 2? Well, it does not matter - there are ways now to manage "this"...
It´s good to "play" for this, though - thumbs up!
Zverev's success is a powerful reminder that Type 1 diabetes need not define a person's potential through careful management, resilience, and determination, extraordinary achievements remain within reach.
Good to see when sports stars do some good in the world!
Great that he is raising awareness about Type 1 Diabetes. Sorry for him that he got an incorrect reading at the start of a match- that is scary. Thanks for sharing.
Hello,
It is great that Zverev is able to help other young people manage this disease.
I am glad he is able to check his numbers while playing his sport .
Great info thanks for sharing! Take care, have a great day and a happy week!
Such good information.
It is really good news that athletes like Zverev are able to compete at this level, but also that they are able to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes.
That is wonderful that these high profile people can show every day people that they can still have a good full life with this disease!
It's wonderful that athletes are sharing they have Type 1 diabetes. Children can look up to these stars and realize they are not alone. Good for Zverev.
Gracias por todos tus reportajes, son muy interesantes. Besos.
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