“The most important person in my life” – Zverev’s declaration of love to his mother

On his first day at the top of the tennis world rankings, Alexander Zverev thanked his mother with an emotional declaration of love. In a personal post on the ATP website, the 29-year-old paid tribute to the woman without whom his big dream would probably never have come true.

“The most important person in my life – and for my tennis career – has always been my mother Irina,” writes Zverev. "She taught me how to play tennis. She was my first coach."

While his father traveled to youth tournaments with his brother Mischa, who was ten years older than him, his mother looked after him. When Zverev was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of four, she never doubted that her son could achieve his dreams. “No matter what obstacle stood in my way, she would never let anything stop me,” writes the two-time Grand Slam winner.

His mother also protected him from discouraging statements from doctors. “She sent me out of the room during these conversations because she didn’t want me to hear what was being said.” Zverev recalled that his mother did not accept when doctors said that something was impossible for her son. "She did everything in her power to help me achieve my dreams. That's why I never had any doubts that I could achieve anything, and I owe that to having a strong mother by my side."

Zverev hid his illness out of shame

For a long time he tried to hide his illness from others. “I was a little ashamed of it,” Zverev admitted. It was only after his serious ankle injury at the French Open 2022 that a rethink began. He founded a foundation to help children with diabetes and made his own illness public.

Now Zverev wants his greatest sporting triumph to be seen as a message to other affected people. "It's great to show everyone out there that they can achieve their dreams even with this disease," he wrote. “If there were another world number one with diabetes at some point, I would be the happiest person in the world.”