There will be no men’s and women’s wheelchair or quads tennis at this year’s US Open Tennis Championships—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 Paralympics wheelchair tournament conflicts with the US Open. (The juniors wheelchair tournament, however, will take place at the US Open at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, New York, as planned.
Four Israelis – Adam Berdichevsky, Guy Sasson, Sergei Lysov, and Maayan Zikri – are representing Israel in the wheelchair tennis event, which got under way on 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 great start.
On Friday, Berdichevsky, 40, who took up wheelchair tennis after losing a leg in a 2007 boating accident, defeated Luca Arca of Italy 6-2, 7-5. This was Berdichevsky’s first singles victory at the Paralympics after debuting at Tokyo 2020.
“I cannot say how much fun it was to represent my country like this. The win, it was the first time I played in front of a crowd like this, and it felt like I played at home – it was very special. I was very happy I could give some good times to people amid all the bad days.”
Earlier in the week, Berdichevsky served as the Israeli delegation’s flag bearer. He was pleased with his victory and reported: “The flag bearing was amazing, to walk with the whole Israel team was amazing – and everyone saw me on TV.”
He will now face Chile’s Alexander Cataldo in round two.
Sergei Lysov
Also on Friday, Sergei Lysov, 20, who was diagnosed with Perthes’ disease at age 9 and immigrated to Israel from Russia in 2019, defeated Brayan Tapia of Chile 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 the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Alfie Hewett of Great Britain. Hewett, a 9-time Grand Slam singles and 3-time Roland Garros singles champion, is appearing in his third Paralympics and handily beat Lysov 6-0, 6-1.
On Saturday, Roland Garros quad singles champion and the tournament’s No. 3 seed, Guy Sasson, won his first-round match against Francisco Cayulef of Chile 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals and then on Monday beat Gregory Slade from Great Britain 6-1, 6-2 to roll into the semifinals.
“Playing for the first time in a great stadium like that, with so many fans who came to watch us… it was a great atmosphere and a unique feeling,” said Sasson. “I had a lot of fun playing this match. Two months ago when I was here, and I was able to win Roland Garros, that gave me a lot of confidence. I love the clay here and the atmosphere. I knew that it would be a good step towards the Paralympics and here we are.”
Maayan Zikri, the only female 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 will be featured at the Summer Paralympic Games. The sport made its debut as a full-medal event at Barcelona 1992. The sport had previously been a demonstration event at Seoul 1988, when a men’s singles and women’s singles tournament was held. The men’s and women’s singles events have been played at every Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event since 1992, while the quad singles and doubles events have been contested since Athens 2004.
The tournament features 95 players from 28 nations. 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 taking place on outdoor clay courts for the second time, after being played on clay at Barcelona 1992. Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen at Stade Roland Garros both have a retractable roof, which can be closed in case of inclement weather.
Boaz Kramer, Executive Director of Israel ParaSport Center, who won the silver medal in mixed doubles quads at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, is proud of the four tennis players as well as Nadav Levi, a boccia player, who are part of their center in Ramat Gan.
“To have four wheelchair tennis players from the Israel ParaSport Center in the Paralympic Games is a dream come true. To make this dream a reality, the Israel ParaSport Center has worked for almost a decade, investing in the development of a very special and unique tennis program that honors the long legacy of wheelchair tennis excellence at our center in Ramat Gan. To see Adam, who survived October 7 with his family, as flag bearer in the) opening ceremony was an emotional moment for all of us.”
Three of the four Paralympic tennis players spoke with The Jerusalem Post from Paris as they prepared for the start of the Paralympics.
Lysov, from Russia, continues to improve his Hebrew and English speaking abilities and was unavailable for comment.
Zikri, 21, of Holon, openly and comfortably shared the story of how she lost her right foot in a water ride at an amusement park in Holland at age 10 while on a family trip celebrating her sister’s bat mitzvah. After several surgeries and rehabilitation, she took up para sports.
“Two wheelchair basketball coaches told me about basketball, spoke with my mom, and asked if I wanted to try it.”
Maayan was hesitant but trusted her mom.
“I tried it and liked it!” she exclaimed.
Zikri played competitive basketball on a boys’ basketball team for five years.
“I love the international environment,” she recounts, and was disappointed when she was no longer allowed to play on a boys’ team—and there were not enough girls to field a girls’ team. “The wheelchair basketball coach in Israel was a tennis player when he was younger and knew that I liked to travel and to compete and asked me if I wanted to try.”
Zikri traveled to Beit HaLochem in Beersheba to try tennis and was hooked. For a while, she played both sports but soon dropped basketball to focus on tennis and avoid injuries.
“Tennis is my love for now. I miss basketball but I don’t regret it.”
Zikri has quickly moved up the ranks in the tennis world since picking up a racket for the first time at age 15. She reached a No. 3 ranking in the world for juniors in 2021.
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 Paralympics.
“It means pride, joy, happiness, and excitement. I am so proud to represent the country that I love, our nation.”
Berdichevsky accommodated an interview just before taking part in the flag-bearing ceremony.
“For me, to represent Israel, to carry the flag, and to be a representative of my country and people is really amazing. It makes me happy and proud.” He is pleased to qualify for the Paralympics again in what he describes as a “really packed year, and despite what is happening.”
Berdichevsky shared the harrowing October 7 story of survival, where his family, including his wife and three children ages six, eight, and 10, survived the Hamas invasion at Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak in a safe room for 14 hours. The family then relocated to Eilat for two months.
Fellow tennis team member Sasson, who has been living in Houston, Texas, with his family as part of his wife’s medical training, suggested that the Jewish community consider bringing 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 returning to Houston.
“We are so thankful to the Houston Jewish community who provided us with a home, a car, and school for the children. We were very welcomed!”
While Berdichevsky felt proud to represent Israel in the 2020 Tokyo Games, he feels it is “much more important than ever to represent the country because of what happened and to be a model for all the soldiers who got injured.”
He playfully said that his strategy for this year’s Paralympics is “to win the first point and go on to the next point!”
Sasson, who spoke with the Post at last year’s US Open, again spoke from Paris prior to the start of the Paralympics. He reflected that returning to the clay courts of Roland Garros was “familiar” as he recently competed there.
Competing in the Paralympics is also familiar, though he said, “last time I competed in the other division (known as ‘wheelchairs’). Now I am in the quads” (for players with more substantial loss of function). Sasson feels there has been “a lot of expectation and it motivates me to do well here.
“I feel good and well-prepared. Hopefully, I will perform the way I want to perform.”
Like his teammates, Sasson feels there is something unique about playing for Israel now
“The whole team is very excited to represent Israel, especially in these times. It is much more than tennis. You represent Israel, and there is a lot of meaning behind it. You can feel this is very important to all of 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 reports that he became disabled and an amputee who also suffered serious eye damage almost 50 years ago in 1968 in a minefield explosion in the Sinai while serving in the IDF. While this is his 12th Paralympics, he exclaimed that “it is still the same excitement!”
Bolotin explained why this year has important significance.
“This year, these are really special circumstances, and everybody understands the unique role and responsibility of the athletes in these special times for Israel. We understand that we really need to do our best and that our athletes serve as role models for the newly disabled who did their service in Gaza and in the north.”
“Sport can be the best tool for rehabilitation and for a full and rewarding life. Our staff is already in the rehab 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 veteran experienced players and two new young ones. The future is before them! They are a great combination!”
Some wheelchair tennis players participating in the Paralympics will receive compensation from the US Open, despite not actually attending. According to the USTA (United States Tennis Association), it gave “players that would have been entered into the US Open via direct acceptance with a player grant to ensure that these players are receiving the equivalent of prize money as compensation.” They detail that a total of $6,244,000 has been set aside for wheelchair tennis grants, player per diems, and hotel payments. Total main draw and qualifying payments for the US Open is $75,000,000.
