Alexander Zverev revealed that at school he was «a bit bullied» for being diabetic, but talking about the disease helped him feel better about his situation. On August 6, Zverev, 25, went public with his type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
Furthermore, Zverev took advantage of the moment to announce that he was launching a foundation to support diabetic children. «Oh, it feels amazing. It feels like a rock fell off my shoulders in a way, because at school I was maybe bullied a little bit for that.» Zverev said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast, for yard barker.
Zverev wants to help diabetic children around the world
Zverev, the highest-ranked German men’s tennis player, grew up in a well-established country. Zverev admitted that he was lucky in that regard, but noted that some children with diabetes do not have the same benefit from growing up in a well-established country like Germany.
That’s why Zverev’s ultimate goal is to help diabetic children around the world get the right treatment for their disease. «It’s to help children, adults and people around the world. Diabetes. I think it’s a disease that isn’t talked about much because I think in countries like Germany, like the US, I would say you can live a pretty normal life with it. .
But that is, which is not always the case. Not anywhere else in the world because many places, like many places in Africa, many places in, in Asia, like. In some places in South America, the medicine is not always there because the country is not as well run as probably Germany or the US or Great Britain or France or, you know, those kinds of countries.
And the second part is also that I think, you know, when you have this disease at a young age, you have a lot of doubts and people give you a lot of doubts because I’ve always had doctors tell me, with a disease like that, you’re never going to be an athlete. professional, especially in a physical sport like tennis, and I want to make sure that the message is conveyed that you really can and should never limit yourself just because you have a disease. like this,» Zverev explained.
