"In school I was maybe bullied a little bit for it" - Zverev on opening up about his struggles with Diabetes

Alexander Zverev has recently opened up about his own personal struggles with diabetes, how it affects him as an athlete, and how it had a negative impact on elements of his childhood.

Speaking to the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast this week, Zverev explained that he wanted to use his platform as an athlete, and his first-hand experience of diabetes to raise awareness and help others with the disease.

It's to help kids and adults and people, all the world over the world. Diabetes. I think that is a illness that is not talked about a lot because I think in countries like Germany, like the us, like other rich countries, I would say you can live with it quite a normal life.

Zverev on the global inequality of diabetes medication

But that is, that is not always the case. Not everywhere else in the world because a lot of places, like a lot of places in Africa, a lot of places in, in Asia, as. Some places South America the medicine is not always there because the, the country is not as well run as probably maybe Germany or the US or Britain or France or, you know, those kind of countries.

And the the second part is also I think, you know, when you get this illness at a young age, you get a lot of doubt in you and people give you a lot of doubt because I’ve always had doctors telling me, with an illness like that you will never be a professional athlete, especially not in a physical sport like tennis and I want to make sure that the message is out there that you really can and that you should never put limits on yourself just because you have an illness like that.

Zverev on his message to those living with diabetes

Oh, it feels amazing. It feels like you know, a stone coming off my shoulders in a way... because in school I was maybe bullied a little bit for it.

Sascha Zverev on opening up about diabetes