There will be no men’s, women’s, or quads wheelchair 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 Paralympics wheelchair tournament coincides with the US Open. However, the juniors wheelchair tournament will still 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 began on Friday and runs through September 7 at Stade Roland Garros, the same venue where Sasson recently won the French Open quads title. The Israeli team is off to a strong start.
On Friday, 40-year-old Adam Berdichevsky, who took up wheelchair tennis after losing a leg in a boating accident in 2007, secured his first Paralympic singles victory by defeating Italy's Luca Arca 6-2, 7-5. This win marks a milestone in Berdichevsky’s career, following his debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Reflecting on the match, Berdichevsky said, “I cannot describe how incredible it was to represent my country like this. It was the first time I played in front of a crowd like this, and it felt like I was playing at home—it was very special. I’m so happy I could bring some joy to people amid all the tough times."
On Friday, Sergei Lysov, a 20-year-old who was diagnosed with Perthes’ disease at age 9 and immigrated to Israel from Russia in 2019, made an impressive Paralympic debut by defeating Brayan Tapia of Chile 7-5, 6-1.
Earlier this month, Lysov reached a career-high ranking of No. 17 and advanced to the second round on Sunday, where he faced the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Alfie Hewett of Great Britain. Hewett, a 9-time Grand Slam singles champion and 3-time Roland Garros singles champion, made quick work of Lysov, winning 6-0, 6-1 in what is his third Paralympic appearance.
On Saturday, Guy Sasson, the Roland Garros quad singles champion and the tournament’s No. 3 seed, won his first-round match against Francisco Cayulef of Chile 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. He continued his strong performance on Monday, defeating Gregory Slade of Great Britain 6-1, 6-2 to secure a spot in the semifinals.
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