Zverev: 'I never let diabetes stop me'

"I have never let diabetes stop me. If I can inspire other people with diabetes to keep chasing their dreams and achieve everything they are capable of, then I will have made a small difference'. German tennis player Alexander Zverev is one of the 64 million people living with diabetes in Europe and he has backed up these words with action. The champion, the current world number two, is in Rome for the Internazionali d'Italia 2025, which he already won last year and in 2017, and participated in an event promoted by Medtronic. He was accompanied on stage by Davide, an 8-year-old boy who lives in Turin and shares his passion for tennis and illness with his favourite.

Sacha, born in Hamburg in 1997, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was only four years old, in which the immune system destroys the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, causing a deficiency of this hormone that is crucial for sugar metabolism. 'When I was diagnosed, about twenty years ago, the situation was different and playing a sport like tennis was considered impossible,' Zverev explains. 'Technology and drugs have made huge steps forward. So I am living my dream, but I am not the only example of an athlete with diabetes. And today there is no reason why children and adults with diabetes cannot live their lives to the fullest'. In 2022, the athlete founded the Alexander Zverev Foundation with his brother, an association that aims to help young people with diabetes in countries where treatment cannot be afforded.

In Italy, according to the latest epidemiological data, there are 3.9 million people living with diabetes, or 6.6% of the population, of which 259,000 have type 1 diabetes and 3.5 million have type 2 diabetes, with a higher prevalence among women. For this population, optimal blood glucose control becomes essential to limit the onset of chronic complications.

Time in Range, i.e. the time spent within the optimal glycaemic range (70-180 mg/dL), is a key indicator for reducing the risk of future complications. However, despite the accessibility of technological solutions, only 20% of people with diabetes in Italy use insulin pumps, compared to 65% in Germany and 43% in the United States. This statistic highlights the need to bridge a gap, not only technological but also cultural and informational. For people with type 1 diabetes, staying in the target glycaemic range for at least 17 hours a day can significantly improve clinical outcomes and offer a better quality of life. Each 10 per cent increase in Time in Range can reduce the risk of long-term complications, such as retinopathy, by almost 40 per cent.

'A diagnosis during childhood or adolescence is a traumatic event,' emphasises Marco Marigliano, Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Verona, Italy, who generates emotions such as shock, anger, fear and anxiety. Helping young people normalise these emotions is essential for their psychological well-being. The use of technologies, such as glycaemic sensors and insulin pumps, has played a key role in relieving stress and anxiety, particularly the fear of hypoglycaemia, which is common in patients and their families'.