Israeli wheelchair tennis player
Guy Sasson (גיא ששון; born April 28, 1980) is an Israeli Paralympic wheelchair tennis player. He won the 2024 French Open Quad Singles event. His highest world ranking in singles is #3, and in doubles is #4, both on September 2, 2024. He won a bronze medal for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in Quad singles.
Early and personal life
Sasson was born and grew up in Ramat Gan, Israel, and is Jewish. His parents are Nissim, who worked in real estate, and Venus, who worked in education, and he has two younger brothers.[1][2][3] He played tennis as a child, served in the Israel Defense Forces, and attended the University of Michigan, and founded a real estate company.[4][5]
He married Aya Mohr (now Dr. Aya Mohr-Sasson, a gynecologist).[1][4] Sasson and his wife have four children.[4] His brother spent two months in the IDF reserves in Gaza.[4]
Snowboarding accident
In January 2015 Sasson was paralyzed from the knees down in a snowboarding accident in Val Thorens, France, after falling 10 meters (33 feet) and injuring his back and leg.[1][6][2][4] He was flown to Tel Hashomer Hospital in Israel, where he had major surgery on his spine and hand, and was told by the doctors that he would not be able to walk again.[4] After spending a year in a rehab hospital he was able to walk out, albeit with the help of braces and canes.[4]
Wheelchair tennis career
Sasson started playing tennis seriously in 2018.[2] He is coached by Ofri Lankri.[7] He won the 2019 Israel Wheelchair Tennis Championship.[7]
He competed for Israel in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021, coming in 9th.[4] Sasson competed in the 2024 U.S. Open in New York, where he reached the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles.[4] In May 2023 he was part of the Israeli quad wheelchair tennis team that won the silver medal at the world championship in Portugal.[6] He won the 2024 Victorian Wheelchair Open for singles, and the doubles of the 2024 Melbourne Wheelchair Open.[4]
Sasson won his first major title at the 2024 French Open, defeating Sam Schröder in the final of the Quad Singles event in a tiebreaker.[8] He dedicated his victory to Israel and to the four hostages who were released from Gaza on that day.[9] He also reached the finals in the 2024 Australian Open in both singles and doubles.[4]
Sasson won a bronze medal for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in Quad singles, defeating Ahmet Kaplan of Turkey in the bronze medal match.[10]
Quad singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Result
|
Year
|
Tournament
|
Surface
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
| Loss |
2024 |
Australian Open |
Hard |
 Sam Schröder |
3–6, 3–6
|
| Win |
2024 |
French Open |
Clay |
Sam Schröder |
6–2, 3–6, 7–6(10–7)
|
Quad doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Conventional hitter: after winning Roland Garros - tennis player Guy Sassoon aims for the Paralympic Games," Archived 2024-08-31 at the Wayback Machine Israel HaYom.
- ^ a b c "Jewish competitors — paralympics preview," Intermountain Jewish News.
- ^ "Guy Sasson," Archived 2024-09-03 at the Wayback Machine Wimbledon.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Sasson, world-ranked Israeli wheelchair tennis player," Archived 2024-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Jewish News Syndicate.
- ^ "Israeli quads tennis star Guy Sasson shares his 1st US Open experience," Archived 2024-08-31 at the Wayback Machine The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ a b "First interview: tennis player Guy Sassoon Massivon will participate in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo," Archived 2024-08-31 at the Wayback Machine Ono News.
- ^ a b "Guy Sassoon won the Israel Wheelchair Tennis Championship," Archived 2024-08-31 at the Wayback Machine Ynet.
- ^ Rakovsky, Ido (June 9, 2024). "Israeli Paralympic Tennis Player Wins First Grand Slam Title in Roland Garros". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "Dedicating it to the freed hostages": Guy Sassoon won Roland Garros in wheelchairs," Archived 2024-08-31 at the Wayback Machine Ynet.
- ^ "Tennis player Guy Sasson claims bronze, Israel’s ninth medal at Paralympics," The Times of Israel.
External links
