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Allergy Diagnostic Tests Help Ambitious Tennis Player Get Back in the Game

Tennis is 15-year-old Jesper Ekoff’s life. His dream to play tennis professionally was ignited when he was 2 years old and first picked up a racket. But an allergy of unknown origin threatened to derail his dream, despite his hard-earned talents.

 

When Jesper played tennis outdoors, his nose began to run and his eyes teared, making it difficult to see the ball. He had trouble breathing. This suspected allergic reaction was especially notable during a tennis tournament in Holland, where grass fields and forests surrounded the tennis courts.

Quotation marks
"My allergy won’t stop me from pursuing my future plans: I’m going to be a tennis pro."
Jesper Ekoff
Tennis player and allergy vaccination patient

“I experienced difficulties playing my matches, so I lost quite badly, [and] I had major problems [playing],” Jesper said.

 

The Swedish teen is among the 20 percent of youth worldwide who suffer from pollen allergies, according to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.1 Determining Jesper’s specific allergy was the first step to treating him and empowering him to return to winning form.

 

Allergy diagnostic tests from Thermo Fisher Scientific identified grass pollen as Jesper’s allergy trigger, allowing doctors to devise the most effective treatment, said Magnus Borres, M.D., M.PH., Ph.D., a practicing allergy specialist and medical director of allergy at Thermo Fisher Scientific.

 

Now, with only one year of allergy vaccinations remaining in his therapy, Jesper is back to full force on the court.

 

“My allergy won’t stop me from pursuing my future plans: I’m going to be a tennis pro,” he said.

 

1. Licari A, Magri P, De Silvestri A, Giannetti A, Indolfi C, Mori F, Marseglia GL, Peroni D. Epidemiology of Allergic Rhinitis in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2023 Aug;11(8):2547-2556. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2023.05.016.

 

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