How UVA graduate with diabetes became a US Open inspiration
Court 5 at the US Open was the site of aces, serves, forehands, backhands and insulin injections.
During a changeover late in the second set Monday against Kevin Anderson, American qualifier J.C. Aragone left the small sidecourt for about 45 seconds, huddling with a trainer out of view for an injection.
Diagnosed with diabetes five years ago, Aragone’s readings weren’t good. He has a device — it’s called a Dexcom G-5 and includes a thin probe under the skin — taped to his body near his hip. It spits out blood-sugar readings and he keeps a monitor by his seat on the court, checking it every other changeover.
“My blood sugar was all over the place,’’ Aragone said, explaining the need for the injection. “It definitely affects you. When you guys haven’t eaten for hours, you feel kind of dizzy like you’re going to pass out or faint. That wasn’t the case today. I was a little bit high. If you have too much of something in your body, it’s not normal. I was able to manage it well. Thankfully the doctor came out and we were able to get it under control.
“In a perfect world it would be great to be like you guys out there.”
It was a Hollywood tale that Aragone was even playing in the first round of the Open. The fifth singles player at Virginia carried a 537th world ranking entering last week — an alternate for the Open’s qualifying tournament.
He was a last-minute replacement, won three straight matches and here he was Monday on opening day — with a curious crowd of about 1,000 fans packing the quaint court.
It didn’t matter much that Aragone couldn’t prevail over the 28th-seeded Anderson, losing 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. After all, five years ago, he was in a diabetic coma, and has fainted before during a practice.
“It’s crazy — I’m getting texts right now from American Airlines,’’ Aragone said. “I was originally supposed to be on a flight to Orlando. I wasn’t expecting this. It came out of nowhere.”
Aragone started strong, looking to stay on serve at 4-3 in the first set. He lost an eight-deuce game, then failed to capitalize on double-break point in the following game, giving Anderson the set. It took a while for Anderson to figure out his obscure but gritty baseliner opponent, but eventually he hammered 22 aces.
“I knew he was a college guy but never saw him strike a ball,’’ Anderson said. “I used a few college contacts. Must be a strong college team to play at 5 and qualify for the Open.’’
Four of his Virginia teammates drove from school to make it for Monday’s match. The Cavaliers won the NCAA title this year, but Aragone has graduated. He was a finance major and during the Open last summer was actually an intern at Chase in Manhattan.
Coincidentally, Chase is the Open’s top sponsor and some of his former co-workers were in attendance.
Aragone has vowed to give the tour a try for a year before possibly heading into the business world. Along the way, his goal is to be an inspiration.
“I have definitely received a ton of Facebook messages,’’ said the 22-year-old from Yorba Linda, Calif. “Stuff from people thanking me, giving them hope for their families. That’s amazing and eye-opening.”
Since his story began to emerge in recent days, Aragone has heard from diabetes organizations about being their first tennis ambassador.
“Nick Jonas is a pretty big diabetic supporter, but you just don’t see many athletes,’’ he said. “I feel it’s an untapped area where I can help athletes that feel a little down because of this condition. I would love nothing more than to promote my condition, teach people it’s not that bad to stop you from succeeding in life or reaching your dreams.’’