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    • Israeli Paralympic tennis players win Paris – Israel Sports
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    Israeli Paralympic tennis players win Paris – Israel Sports

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    There will be no men’s or women’s wheelchair or quad tennis at this year’s US Open Tennis Championships, and for a very good reason. The world’s best wheelchair tennis players are currently in Paris, France, competing for their countries at the Paralympics.

    Every four years, the Paralympic Wheelchair Tournament clashes with the US Open. (The junior wheelchair tournament, however, will be held as planned during the US Open at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, New York.)

    Four Israelis – Adam Berdichevsky, Guy Sasson, Sergei Lysov and Maayan Zikri – will represent Israel in the wheelchair tennis event, which began Friday and runs through September 7 on the same courts at Stade Roland Garros, home of the French Open, where Sasson recently won the French Open quads title. The Israelis are off to a good start.

    On Friday, Berdichevsky, 40, who took up wheelchair tennis after losing a leg in a boating accident in 2007, defeated Italy’s Luca Arca 6-2, 7-5. It was Berdichevsky’s first singles victory at the Paralympic Games after making his debut in Tokyo 2020.

    “I can’t tell you how much fun it was to represent my country like this. The win, it was the first time I played in front of such a crowd, and it felt like I was playing at home – it was very special. I was very happy that I could give people a good time in between all those bad days.”

    Israel’s Iyad Shalabi reacts after winning gold. (Photo: REUTERS/MOLLY DARLINGTON)

    Earlier in the week, Berdichevsky was the flag bearer for the Israeli delegation. He was happy about his victory, reporting: “Carrying the flag was great, to run with the whole Israeli team was great – and everyone saw me on TV.”

    In the second round he will face Chilean Alexander Cataldo.

    Sergei Lysov

    Also on Friday, Sergei Lysov, 20, who was diagnosed with Perthes disease at age 9 and who emigrated to Israel from Russia in 2019, defeated Chile’s Brayan Tapia 7-5, 6-1 in his Paralympic debut.

    Lysov reached a career-high ranking of No. 17 earlier this month and advanced to the second round on Sunday against tournament No. 1 Alfie Hewett of Great Britain. Hewett, a nine-time Grand Slam singles and three-time Roland Garros singles champion, is appearing in his third Paralympics and easily defeated Lysov 6-0, 6-1.

    On Saturday, Guy Sasson, the Roland Garros quadruple singles champion and the tournament’s third seed, won his first-round match against Chile’s Francisco Cayulef 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. On Monday, he defeated Great Britain’s Gregory Slade 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals.

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    “Playing in such a big stadium for the first time, with so many fans coming to see us… it was a great atmosphere and a unique feeling,” Sasson said. “I had a lot of fun playing this match. Two months ago, when I was here and won Roland Garros, it gave me a lot of confidence. I like the clay here and the atmosphere. I knew it would be a good step towards the Paralympics and here we are.”

    Maayan Zikri, the only woman on the Israeli team, defeated Najwa Awane of Morocco 6-3, 6-2 in her first-round match.

    This is the ninth year that wheelchair tennis has been featured at the Summer Paralympics. The sport made its debut as a full medal event in Barcelona 1992. The sport was previously a demonstration event in Seoul 1988, when a men’s and women’s singles tournament was held. The men’s and women’s singles tournaments have been played at every Paralympic wheelchair tennis event since 1992, while the quad singles and doubles tournaments have been contested since Athens 2004.

    The tournament features 95 players from 28 countries. Singles matches are played as best-of-three tie-break sets, while doubles matches are played as best-of-three tie-break sets with a match tie-break as the final set. The Paralympic wheelchair tennis event is being held on outdoor clay courts for the second time, after being played on clay in Barcelona 1992. Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen at Stade Roland Garros both have a retractable roof, which can be closed in bad weather.

    Boaz Kramer, director of the Israel ParaSport Center, who won the silver medal in mixed doubles quadruple at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, is proud of the four tennis players and Nadav Levi, a boccia player, who are part of their center in Ramat Gan.

    “Having four wheelchair tennis players from the Israel ParaSport Center at the Paralympic Games is a dream come true. To make this dream a reality, the Israel ParaSport Center has worked for almost ten years to develop a very special and unique tennis program that honors the long legacy of wheelchair tennis excellence at our center in Ramat Gan. Seeing Adam, who survived October 7 with his family, as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony was an emotional moment for all of us.”

    Three of the four Paralympic tennis players spoke to The Jerusalem Post from Paris as they prepared for the start of the Paralympic Games.

    Lysov, from Russia, continues to improve his Hebrew and English speaking skills and could not be reached for comment.

    Zikri, 21, from Holon, openly and comfortably shared the story of how she lost her right foot on a water ride at an amusement park in Holland when she was 10 during a family trip to celebrate her sister’s bat mitzvah. After several surgeries and rehabilitation, she took up parasports.

    “Two wheelchair basketball coaches told me about basketball, talked to my mom and asked if I wanted to try it.”

    Maayan hesitated, but trusted her mother.

    “I tried it and it tasted good!” she exclaimed.

    Zikri played competitive basketball on a boys’ basketball team for five years.

    “I love the international environment,” she says, and was disappointed when she was cut from a boys’ team – and there weren’t enough girls to field a girls’ team. “The wheelchair basketball coach in Israel had been a tennis player when he was younger and knew I liked to travel and compete and asked me if I wanted to try it.”

    Zikri traveled to Beit HaLochem in Beersheba to try tennis and was instantly hooked. She played both sports for a while, but soon dropped basketball to focus on tennis and avoid injuries.

    “Tennis is my love now. I miss basketball, but I don’t regret it.”

    Zikri has risen rapidly in the tennis world since she first picked up a racket at the age of 15. In 2021, she reached No. 3 in the world junior rankings.

    In 2022, she won her first title at the Hungarian Open Wheelchair Tennis Championship. Since then, Zikri has claimed titles in Switzerland, England and Romania. Her most recent victory was a first place finish at the X Open Bai De Setúbal in July 2023.

    Zikri is proud to represent Israel at the Paralympic Games.

    “It means pride, joy, happiness and excitement. I am so proud to represent the country that I love, our nation.”

    Berdichevsky gave permission for an interview just before taking part in the flag-raising ceremony.

    “For me it’s really great to represent Israel, to carry the flag and to be a representative of my country and my people. It makes me happy and proud.” He is pleased to have qualified for the Paralympics again in what he describes as a “very busy year, and despite what’s happening.”

    Berdichevsky shared the harrowing story of survival from October 7, in which his family, including his wife and three children aged six, eight and 10, survived the Hamas invasion of Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak in a safe room for 14 hours. The family then moved to Eilat for two months.

    Teammate Sasson, who lives with his family in Houston, Texas, as part of his wife’s medical training, suggested that the Jewish community consider taking the Berdichevsky family as well. Berdichevsky noted with great appreciation that his family spent six months in Houston before returning to Eilat. They are currently considering their next move, which may include a return to Houston.

    “We are so grateful to the Jewish community in Houston for giving us a house, a car, and a school for the children. We were very welcomed!”

    While Berdichevsky was proud to represent Israel at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he believes it is “much more important than ever to represent the country because of what happened and to be an example to all the soldiers who were injured.”

    He playfully said that his strategy for this year’s Paralympic Games is: “win the first point and move on to the next point!”

    Sasson, who spoke to the Post at last year’s US Open, spoke again from Paris ahead of the start of the Paralympics. He said returning to the clay courts of Roland Garros was “familiar” since he had recently competed there.

    Competing in the Paralympics is also familiar, although he said, “last time I was in the other division (known as ‘wheelchairs’). Now I’m in the quadriceps” (for players with a greater functional impairment). Sasson feels that “there are a lot of expectations and that motivates me to do well here.

    “I feel good and well prepared. Hopefully I perform the way I want to perform.”

    Like his teammates, Sasson feels it is unique to play for Israel now

    “The whole team is very excited to represent Israel, especially in these times. It’s much more than tennis. You represent Israel, and there’s a lot of meaning behind it. You feel that this is very important for all the athletes who want to do well and make people happy.”

    According to Roni Bolotin, former Paralympic swimmer and head of the Israeli delegation, 27 athletes are competing in 10 events, including the team sport of goalball. Bolotin said he is a disabled amputee who also suffered a serious eye injury nearly 50 years ago in 1968 in a minefield explosion in the Sinai while serving in the IDF. Although this is his 12th Paralympic Games, he exclaimed that “it’s still the same excitement!”

    Bolotin explained why this year is of great importance.

    “This year, these are truly special circumstances, and everyone understands the unique role and responsibility of the athletes in these special times for Israel. We understand that we really have to do our best and that our athletes serve as role models for the newly disabled athletes who have served in Gaza and the north.”

    “Sports can be the best tool for rehabilitation and for a full and satisfying life. Our staff is already in the rehabilitation centers to show that sports is a way to have the best life in this situation!”

    Bolotin is proud of the tennis team playing for Israel in Paris.

    “They are a combination of two experienced veterans and two new young players. The future is ahead of them! They are a great combination!”

    Some wheelchair tennis players who compete in the Paralympics receive compensation from the US Open, even though they did not participate in the event themselves. According to the USTA (United States Tennis Association), it “provided players who would have entered the US Open via direct acceptance a player scholarship to ensure that these players receive the equivalent of prize money in compensation.” They indicate that a total of $6,244,000 has been set aside for wheelchair tennis scholarships, player per diems and hotel payments. The total main draw and qualifying payments for the US Open amount to $75,000,000.



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