When I was in high school in the late 1940s, I lived a few blocks away from the West Side Tennis Club. This was the home of the United States Championships, which ranked with those of Australia and Wimbledon. It was a different, more amateur era for tennis — players wore all white, including sneakers, and just as white were the tennis balls — yet the play was no less intense than that of today. Back then, there were no “tie breakers,” so matches could go on for hours — a challenge for any player with type 1 diabetes (once known as juvenile diabetes).
At that time, living with type 1 diabetes was complicated by the fact that the insulins of the day — both short- and long-acting — were difficult to use. Of course, finger-stick monitoring was not even in the imagination and wouldn’t appear for close to 20 years. The general public had enough awareness of diabetes that they knew some people could have low blood sugars that altered their behavior.
Tennis Champions with Diabetes
William Talbert
A national champion at that time was William Talbert. Billy, who had type 1 diabetes, was a favorite with the crowds. One afternoon, his game suddenly deteriorated and he could barely raise his arms. Somebody in the stadium came running down the aisles and dashed past the ushers, bringing a few sugary sodas to Talbert’s rescue. He drank them, and in a short time was ready to complete the match. The drop in blood glucose he had experienced was probably related to exerting more physical effort than he had planned.
Ham Richardson
One of the other great tennis players 50 years ago who had type 1 diabetes was Ham Richardson. Ham also was a champion and he, too, had to do unusual things to provide stability to his blood glucose.
Arthur Ashe
A third great US champion with diabetes was Arthur Ashe. He won many international titles, including Wimbledon. Emotionally, one of his great victories was against the reigning champ, Jimmy Connors, whom everybody thought unbeatable. Arthur was African American, which put him at risk for the disease, and although he was an athlete and thin, it was believed he had type 2 diabetes. Retrospectively, it is now believed it may have been a hybrid type of diabetes we call LADA, a slow progressing form of autoimmune diabetes.
Modern Tools for Blood-Glucose Monitoring Help Today’s Athletes
When self-monitoring of blood glucose became more common in the 1970s, it provided an interesting opportunity to incorporate all the new information about exercise and blood glucose with readings from the meter. One patient of mine offers a prime example. In her 30s, she was slender and a fiercely competitive athlete. She played tennis every afternoon. She was just as competitive no matter her blood glucose levels, but every day before lunch her numbers were high. I suggested she move her tennis game to 11 am, and not only did she win her matches, but her glucose was now normal before lunch.
Tennis is a perfect sport for people who take insulin. It can be very intense with lots of running during long rallies, but every two games you get to sit down. You can check your glucose, correct your numbers and return to the court. Most importantly, as with other sports, having type 1 diabetes is not a reason to drop out. Today, we have all the diabetes management tools to support any sport, whether it’s tennis, professional football, squash or many others.
To learn more about diabetes and the Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, please visit our website.
This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, FACP, Director, Diabetes Management Program, Gerald J. Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.