Alexander Zverev’s Mid-Match Phone Habit: An Easy-to-Understand Article

The Mystery: Two Questions Fans Ask

If you watch tennis, you might see Alexander Zverev (29) – a famous tennis star – during a match when players switch sides (called a "side change"). He often digs in his bag and does something on his phone. This happens even at big events like Wimbledon.

This makes people wonder two things:

• What is he doing in the middle of a match?
• Didn’t he say his phone is completely off during a Grand Slam tournament and that he has no contact with anyone – not even his girlfriend Sophia Thomalla (36)? So what’s going on?

The Simple Answer: He’s Taking Care of His Health

Like many things in life, these two questions have the same answer. Zverev is not texting or calling anyone. He is checking his body’s sugar level!

Here is the background made super simple (ELI5 style):

• Zverev has had Type‑1 Diabetes for 25 years (since he was a little kid).
• In Type‑1 Diabetes, the body doesn’t make a special helper called insulin that lets sugar from food go into cells. So people must watch their blood sugar carefully.
• Because he is a type‑1 diabetic, Zverev wears a tiny sensor (like a small sticker) on his lower back.
• The sensor constantly measures his blood sugar value (how much sugar is in his blood).
• The sensor sends the numbers either to a separate measuring device or to an app on his phone. Zverev uses the app.
• During those side changes in the match, he pulls out his phone to look at the app and see how his sugar level is doing.

Important Callout: Measuring sugar and injecting insulin (the medicine he needs) are just a normal part of Zverev’s day – even during a tennis match!

Also, coming up: On Sunday at 5 pm (live on Prime), Zverev will play the final against the Italian player Jannik Sinner (24), who is the world number 1.

How His Phone Is “Off” but Still Works

Zverev once said his phone is off during Grand Slams. So how can he use it?

The truth is:

• His phone is turned on, but it is in airplane mode and has no Wi‑Fi.
• The only connection it has is Bluetooth (a short‑range wireless link).
• Bluetooth connects the phone to his sugar sensor, so he can see the health data.
• Because there is no normal network, no one can call or message him – not Sophia Thomalla nor anyone else who might want to reach him.

A reporter asked if not talking for two weeks (during the tournament) is bad for his relationship. Zverev, who won the French Open, said: “We have a stable relationship.”

A Scary Mix‑Up in Halle (Before Wimbledon)

Things don’t always go smoothly. Here is what happened at the tournament in Halle/Westfalen right before Wimbledon:

1. Just before his semifinal against Taylor Fritz (28), Zverev’s sensor broke and showed wrong blood values.
2. Zverev (the 2021 Olympic champion) felt like his sugar was too low (a feeling called “under‑sugared”).
3. But the sensor said the opposite – that his sugar was fine.
4. He believed the sensor and injected insulin (which lowers sugar further).
5. His first feeling was actually correct: he had too little sugar in his blood.
6. To fix it, he said he quickly ate 350 grams of sugar through special gel packs.
7. This whole confusion made his play that day terrible, and he lost the match, seeming completely out of it.

Summary

Let’s recap the key points in easy bullets:

• Alexander Zverev (29) is often seen using his phone during match side‑changes at events like Wimbledon.
• He said his phone is off in Grand Slams and he doesn’t contact anyone, not even girlfriend Sophia Thomalla (36).
• The reason: He has Type‑1 Diabetes for 25 years, wears a sensor on lower back, and checks blood sugar via app.
• His phone is on but in airplane mode, no Wi‑Fi, only Bluetooth to the sensor – so he is unreachable.
• He calls his relationship stable (“We have a stable relationship”).
• In Halle before Wimbledon, his sensor failed before semifinal vs Taylor Fritz (28); he felt low sugar, sensor lied, he injected insulin, then consumed 350g sugar gels, played badly and lost.
• He will play final Sunday 5 pm (Prime live) vs Jannik Sinner (24), world #1.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What is Type‑1 Diabetes in kid‑friendly words?
Think of your body like a car. Sugar is fuel, and insulin is the key that puts fuel into the engine (cells). In Type‑1 Diabetes, the body loses the key factory. So a person must check fuel levels (blood sugar) often and add keys (insulin) manually. Zverev has had this since age 4.

2. Why does Zverev look at his phone if he promised it’s off?
His phone is in airplane mode with no internet or calls, so it is “off” from the world. Only a Bluetooth link to his medical sensor is active. He uses it as a health monitor, not a communication device.

3. What happened when the sensor failed in Halle?
Right before a semifinal against Taylor Fritz, the sensor showed wrong numbers. Zverev felt low on sugar but the device said he was okay. He injected insulin (which was wrong) and later had to eat 350 g of sugar gels, then lost the match.

4. Can his girlfriend or family call him during Wimbledon?
No. Because the phone has no cellular or Wi‑Fi connection, nobody can reach him. He says his relationship with Sophia Thomalla is stable despite two weeks of no contact.