German tennis player Alexander Zverev announced that he suffers from type 1 diabetes. Zverev revealed that he was diagnosed with the disease when he was only four years old.

– As a child I didn't think much about it, but later I thought more and more about the disease. I want to show that even with this disease you can go far, achieve a lot - said Zverev.

The German also announced that he plans to establish a foundation that will deal with the provision of insulin and other medicines for diabetes patients.

- Now, after so many years, I feel that I have enough confidence to go public with this initiative - added Zverev.

The disease type 1 diabetes usually occurs in younger people, there is practically no insulin in the circulation, and the level of glucagon is elevated. This is a rarer form of diabetes, it occurs in 5 to 10 percent of people who suffer from this disease, and there is only one way of treatment – ​​insulin replacement.

By revealing he was suffering from diabetes, Zverev shrugged off allegations of an incident during the final of the 2019 Masters when he was accused of using his mobile phone during the match. In fact, he used an apparatus to determine the concentration of glucose in the blood.