Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” • With • Karim Maamoun | Tennis 10sBalls

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories. We wish him and this endeavor the best of luck. Great seeing Noah wearing K-Swiss and playing Solinco Strings.

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“It was a big surprise for me as no one in my family ever had it, but about 10 years ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I loved the sport and didn’t want to quit, but I had to take a step back and take care of my health first. I followed a strict diet and constantly monitored my blood sugar level. Then I started taking daily insulin injections to control it. It definitely wasn’t easy, but it was my only hope for a professional career. This condition seemed to me to be an aberration, something to be ashamed of, so for many years I told no one, not even my closest friends. I suffered low sugar comas a few times and one such time was with my friends, but they didn’t know what to do. Consequently, I had to tell them my secret and how they could help me if I went through another of these episodes. Recently, I started using glucose monitoring sensors that are used without finger pricking. These are not available in Egypt, so I can only get them from abroad and have to make sure I always have sufficient amount. Wearing this device made more people know about my condition and made me more comfortable to talk about it. Now, years later, I have gotten better at controlling my blood sugar level. Before matches, I need to check and adjust it, if needed. During a match I make sure at every changeover it doesn’t get too high or too low. Normally, during a match, it would get high rather than low due to the pressure, tension and electrolyte imbalance. I might start cramping, and even if I get my injections, it wouldn’t kick in until a few changeovers. In my last Davis Cup my blood sugar level suddenly rose and I was feeling fatigue all over my body. It wasn’t easy for me to retire during such a match, but it was getting dangerous and I was rushed to the hospital afterwards. I sometimes wonder, whether this put me at a disadvantage and whether I could have been doing better at tennis otherwise. I would love to not worry about that and just focus on my tennis, but I just can never predict when my blood sugar level is going to get out of control again. This is my biggest challenge and, when it happens, it is sadly not something that I could have prevented.” @karimmaamoun

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You can follow Karim Maamoun on the links below:

Facebook | Karim Maamoun

Twitter | @KarimMaamoun

Instagram | @karimmaamoun

You can check out more Behind The Racquet stories on the link below:

Facebook | Behind The Racquet

Twitter | @BehindTRacquet

Instagram | @behindtheracquet