Is $f^{-1}(1)$ a submanifold of $\Bbb S^2\times \Bbb S^2$?
The following result can be found in Lee's Introduction to Smooth Manifolds, Proposition 5.7.
Let $M, N$ be smooth manifold and let $g : M\to N$ be a smooth map. Then the graph of $g$ $$ \Gamma_g =\{ (x, g(x)) \in M \times N : x\in M\}$$ is an embedded submanifold of dimension $m = \dim (M)$.
Setting $M = N = \mathbb S^2$ and $g : \mathbb S^2 \to \mathbb S^2$, $g(x) = x$, then
$$D = \{ (x, x) \in \mathbb S^2 \times \mathbb S^2 : x\in \mathbb S^2\}$$ is an embedded submanifold of $\mathbb S^2 \times \mathbb S^2$. Since $f^{-1}(1) = D$, $f^{-1}(1)$ is an embedded submanifold of $\mathbb S^2 \times \mathbb S^2$.