
It is rare that a player can only win seven games during their first round match and still be the source of inspiration for many in the world of tennis. Then again, Juan Cruz Aragone’s journey in life has been far from ordinary.
At the age of 16 it was unclear if he would ever play tennis again. An adverse reaction to a drug treating the flu placed Aragone in a three-week coma after he suffered kidney and liver damage. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. A lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar to go too high. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also endured numerous heart problems caused by his allergic reaction. Going in and out of hospital for a period of two years.
“He lost a lot of weight, a lot of muscle,” his mother Paula told The New York Times. “And he had a lot of problems with his heart because of the complications.”
The traumatic experience failed to deter the American, who return to the sport via the college circuit. He was at a cross-roads in his life about what to do next. At one point he was preparing for a career in finance, working as an intern at JP Morgan Chase in New York. Nevertheless, he opted to give his tennis career a go with the support of his parents.
“My original goal was to give myself a year. I mean, I’m still sticking with a year because I have been 10 weeks on the road and that’s been the hardest 10 weeks of my life. I will leave it to the one-year goal. I see myself playing a lot longer.”
Leading into the final grand slam of the year, Aragone played a series of Future and Challenger tournaments this season, achieving a main draw win-loss of 12-12. His best result of the year so far was reaching the final of a Spanish Futures event in June.
Aragone’s US Open breakthrough seemed as if it was fate. He was given a wild card into the qualifying tournament after a series of player withdrawals. Seizing his opportunity, the 22-year-old produced wins over Marco Cecchinato, Riccardo Bellotti and Akira Santillan to reach his maiden grand slam main draw.
A role model to others
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Playing professional tennis with diabetes is far from easy. Facing Kevin Anderson in the first round in New York, Aragon had to leave the court after the first set to receive an injection from the doctor.
“My blood sugar was all over the place. I had to leave during the match one time to go give myself an injection. But that was easy. I mean, they called the doctor.” He explained after his 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, loss.
Explaining what it is like to play with a low blood sugar, the world No.534 compared it to not eating. He can experience dizziness and feelings that he might pass out. Fortunately, he has become a pro in managing his condition and it not phased by it any more.
“In a perfect world, it would have been great to be like you guys out there, but that’s just not the case.”
Aragone hopes to use his US Open experience as a source of inspiration for other athletes suffering from diabetes. He said that he has received a ‘ton of Facebook messages’ from members of the public coping with the same condition.
“At the moment I’m talking to a lot of different diabetes organizations trying to, you know, be almost like the first tennis player to be sponsored by them, become an ambassador.” He revelled.
“I know they have — Nick Jonas is a pretty big diabetic support, but you just don’t see many athletes like that. So I feel like it’s kind of an untapped area where I can kind of help athletes that, you know, feel like they are a little down because of this condition.”
It is unclear what the future holds for the American. If he will continue his tennis dream or switch back to his ambitions in the financial sector. Either way, Aragone has become an example of how to fight back when all the odds are piled against you.
This is why he exits the US Open as a winner.