Two Wimbledon finalists allergic to grass and forced to take drastic action

This year's Wimbledon Championships have thrown up a curious state of affairs on finals weekend, with two of the remaining players allergic to grass. While some tennis stars struggle with the surface for other reasons, both Karolina Muchova and Alexander Zverev have found themselves dealing with allergies on top of any other challenges. Muchova is on Centre Court on Saturday, facing Linda Noskova in an all-Czech battle in the women's singles final after beating Coco Gauff. And 24 hours later it will be Zverev's turn, with the German ending the hopes of home favourite Arthur Fery in the semis.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm allergic," Muchova confirmed after her quarter-final victory over Naomi Osaka. When asked how she manages the allergy she smiles and said: "I have pills, a lot of pills. Pills, sprays, eyedrops." The 29-year-old is in her first ever Wimbledon final and hadn't made it into week two at SW19 since 2021 but feels her grass-court game has been improving. "This year I played in Berlin, then Bad Homburg, I played two tournaments before Wimbledon," she said. "I think it helped me to get the matches and get that experience from the matches, I think I feel the most comfortable definitely on the grass now."

Zverev was asked how he has been coping with his allergy after a second round victory over Valentin Royer. "Just the same as always. I have a bit of a stuffed nose," he said.

"Again, I will not die from it. It doesn't affect me playing. I'm fine."

He also addressed how his mindset has changed after winning his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. "Last year I was struggling a lot tennis-wise. Also, I was not playing really well," he said.

"This year I'm coming in as Roland Garros champion. I think the mindset is just very different, playing-wise very different. Of course I hope to continue my good form."

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Zverev, 29, has also managed his Type 1 diabetes during his tennis career. He injects himself on court when required and spoke about the matter after beating Marcos Giron in round three.

"I have a foundation for kids with diabetes. I was once a kid who just got diagnosed with diabetes. I had parents whose kid got diagnosed with diabetes 20-plus years ago," the German said.

"If we as a foundation, and me just as a tennis player and somebody who has diabetes, can help even just a single kid or a single parent, I'll be the happiest person in the world."