Israel’s Paralympic tennis athletes leave a lasting impression in Paris.

Every four years, the Paralympics wheelchair tournament overlaps with the US Open. However, the juniors wheelchair tournament will still be held as scheduled at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, New York.

Four Israeli players—Adam Berdichevsky, Guy Sasson, Sergei Lysov, and Maayan Zikri—are representing Israel in the wheelchair tennis event, which began on Friday and runs until September 7 at Stade Roland Garros, the venue for the French Open. The Israeli team has started strong.

Berdichevsky, 40, who began playing wheelchair tennis after losing a leg in a boating accident in 2007, secured his first singles victory at the Paralympics by defeating Luca Arca of Italy 6-2, 7-5. He expressed his joy at representing his country, noting, “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.”

Earlier in the week, Berdichevsky had the honor of being the Israeli delegation’s flag bearer. He reported that carrying the flag while walking with his team was an emotional experience.

In round two, he will face Alexander Cataldo from Chile.

On the same day, Sergei Lysov, 20, who immigrated to Israel from Russia in 2019 after being diagnosed with Perthes’ disease at age 9, won his first Paralympic match against Brayan Tapia of Chile 7-5, 6-1. Lysov, who recently achieved a career-high ranking of No. 17, will now face Alfie Hewett of Great Britain, the tournament’s top seed.

Guy Sasson, the No. 3 seed and reigning quad singles champion at Roland Garros, won his first-round match against Francisco Cayulef of Chile 6-2, 6-3, and advanced to the quarterfinals, where he defeated Gregory Slade from Great Britain 6-1, 6-2 to reach the semifinals.

Maayan Zikri, the only female player on the Israeli team, triumphed over Najwa Awane of Morocco 6-3, 6-2 in her first-round match.

This marks the ninth year that wheelchair tennis is featured in the Summer Paralympic Games. The sport has been a full-medal event since its debut in Barcelona in 1992, following a demonstration event in Seoul in 1988. Since then, men’s and women’s singles events have been held at every Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event, with quad singles and doubles added since Athens 2004.

The tournament includes 95 players from 28 nations. Singles matches are played in a best-of-three tie-break set format, while doubles matches also follow the same format 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 since the 1992 games.

Boaz Kramer, Executive Director of the Israel ParaSport Center and a silver medalist in mixed doubles quads at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, expressed pride in the four tennis players and boccia player Nadav Levi, who are part of their center. He noted, “To have four wheelchair tennis players from the Israel ParaSport Center in the Paralympic Games is a dream come true.”

Three of the four Paralympic tennis players spoke with The Jerusalem Post from Paris as they prepared for the games. Zikri, who lost her right foot in an amusement park accident at age 10, shared her journey into para sports, initially starting with basketball before transitioning to tennis.

“I tried it and liked it!” she exclaimed, highlighting her rapid ascent in the tennis world since picking up a racket at 15. She reached a No. 3 junior ranking in the world in 2021 and has since won multiple titles.

Zikri expressed pride in representing Israel at the Paralympics, calling it a source of joy and excitement. Berdichevsky echoed these sentiments, stating that representing Israel and being a flag bearer was an incredible experience for him.

Berdichevsky shared his survival story from the October 7 Hamas invasion, emphasizing the significance of representing Israel during these challenging times.

Sasson, who has moved to Houston, Texas, with his family for his wife’s medical training, also reflected on the importance of competing for Israel in these unique circumstances.

Roni Bolotin, the head of the Israeli delegation and a former Paralympic swimmer, remarked on the unique significance of this year’s games, emphasizing the responsibility athletes carry to serve as role models for those newly disabled.

Some wheelchair tennis players participating in the Paralympics will receive financial support from the US Open. The USTA (United States Tennis Association) has allocated $6,244,000 for wheelchair tennis grants, player per diems, and hotel expenses, despite the players not attending the US Open this year.