Israel ParaSport Center

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Israel ParaSport Center

At the Israel ParaSport Center, we harness the power of adaptive sports to transform lives.

Serving 3,000+ annually, we help Israelis with disabilities, assisting them in building the self-confidence and skills that empower a life without limit. The Israel ParaSport Center (formerly Israel Sport Center for the Disabled) is a world-renowned athletic rehabilitation center in Israel that transforms lives. Founded more than 60 years ago, The Center's mission to empower people with disabilities through sports has helped thousands of Israelis lead fulfilling, successful lives. The Israel ParaSport Center currently serves more than 2,700 children and adults with disabilities annually through both its holistic rehabilitative and competitive parasport programs. Children and adults with disabilities are unbound by societal expectations through Israel ParaSport Center programs. Everyone has the opportunity to participate in various adaptive sports; from wheelchair basketball and rugby to boccia and wheelchair table tennis, every athlete is empowered to meet and exceed their goals on and off the court. With the help of The Center's staff, they gain self-confidence, learn new skills, find community, and successfully integrate into Israeli society. The Israel ParaSport Center (formerly The American Friends of the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled) is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization operating under Federal Tax ID #27-5126671.

01/22/2026

Yesterday we hosted the 2026 National Schools Boccia Championship for the 8th year in a row, continuing a tradition we look forward to each year. The event brought together around 50 students ages 10–21 from seven schools for kids with disabilities across Israel. Boccia is a sport designed for athletes with severe disabilities, and The Center is proud to provide the space, support, and opportunity for these athletes to compete like any other. It’s special to see them work together as a team, feel motivated, empowered, and celebrated for the sport they love and dedicate themselves to. Days like this are a reminder of how important it is that spaces and opportunities like this exist.

Photos by Sydney Goldberg

01/21/2026

Guy Sasson is on fire at the Melbourne Open! 🔥

Today, Guy dominated both brackets:

🎾 Singles: Defeated Andy Lapthorne — 6-2, 6-1

🎾 Doubles: With Niels Vink , crushed Francisco Cayulef & Gonzalo Enrique Lazarte — 6-0, 6-3

Tomorrow, the stakes get even higher: Guy faces Niels Vink in the singles final AND will take the court in the doubles semifinal alongside Vink.

Let’s go, Guy! The finish line is in sight!

Photo credit: Keren Isaacson

01/20/2026

HUGE NEWS from Melbourne! 🚨🎾

Maayan Zikri has been awarded a wildcard for the Australian Open!

Maayan, our amazing wheelchair tennis athlete, is the definition of commitment, and now she’s one win away from the Grand Slam main draw. Everything comes down to her match on Monday, Jan 26th.

What a moment. What a journey. Good luck, Maayan! We are all behind you! 💪

Photo of Maayan from the 2024 Paris Olympics, by Keren Isaacson, Israel Paralympic Committee

01/20/2026

The Melbourne Open continues! 🎾

TOMORROW: Guy Sasson is back on court for quad wheelchair tennis singles AND doubles quarter finals! Let’s go, Guy!

Shoutout to Sergei Lysov for a fantastic run earlier this week with wins in both brackets in wheelchair tennis. Though he’s out of this tournament, he’s already focused on what’s next...

NEXT WEEK: THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN! Guy and Sergei are ready for the big stage, and Maayan is fighting for her spot in the prelims! One win and she’s in! 🤞💫

Live scores for tomorrow (tonight US time): https://tennisau.scorebuzzer.com/melbourne-wheelchair-open-2026

Guy's coach is Damien Martinquet
Sergei's coach is Ofri Lankri
Maayan's coaches are Ofer Sela and Asi Stokol

01/18/2026

It was not a simple day for our athletes at the Melbourne Open. While Sergei Lysov won nicely and moves on to face world no. 4 in two days' time, Maayan Zikri and Adam Berdichevsky lost their matches and are done in the singles draw.

Coach Asi Stokol is our staff member on the ground. While he is officially Maayan's coach back home, out on the courts in Australia, he is a major source of encouragement and guidance for all our athletes.

Reflecting on the day, Asi said:

"Maayan and Adam gave everything on the court today. They fought until the very last point in two long and grueling matches."

It is thanks to our coaches like Asi that our athletes get this far, and, when necessary, find the strength to get back up and continue on.

Pictured: Three of our athletes with Coach Asi Stokol (in white).

Looking Ahead: Tomorrow, Guy Sasson plays his first game of the tournament at 11am Australia time, 7pm EST (this evening) on court 4.
Sergei Lysov plays doubles "not before 2:30pm" Australia time, 10:30pm EST (this evening) on court 1.
Maayan Zikri is also playing doubles "not before 2:30pm" Australia time, 10:30pm EST (this evening) on court 4.

Watch live here: https://www.youtube.com/.tennis.centre/streams

01/17/2026

Time to cheer on our four Paralympic wheelchair tennis players who are competing in the Melbourne Open, starting tomorrow!

Schedule for day 1, Sunday, January 17, 2026

Following a game at 11am Australia time / Saturday, January 16th, 8pm EST
Sergei Lysov, Court 2
Adam Berdichevsky, Court 11

Not before 1pm Australia time / Saturday, January 16th, 10pm EST
Maayan Zikri, Court 3

Watch live here: https://www.youtube.com/.tennis.centre/streams
See live results here: https://tennisau.scorebuzzer.com/melbourne-wheelchair-open-2026

Don't worry, Guy Sasson begins playing in two days.

Stay tuned and be sure to show our athletes your love in the comments!

01/16/2026

🔥 The Powerhouse Duo Strikes Again! 🔥

Guy Sasson and Niels Vink claim another doubles victory at the Adelaide Wheelchair International, defeating Heath Davidson and Andy Lapthorne 6-2, 6-0!

This unstoppable partnership keeps proving why they're the team to beat!

Let's keep cheering for Guy as he continues to represent Israel and the Israel ParaSport Center in Australia! Next up, the Melbourne Open!

01/16/2026

Let's make enough noise that Adam and his team members can hear us all the way in Australia as we cheer for Israel's 2024 Paralympic flagbearer, Adam Berdichevsky!

On October 7th, 2023, Adam Berdichevsky together with his wife Hila and their three young children, huddled terrified in their safe room in their home in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. Less than one year later, Adam extraordinarily made it to the Paralympics in Paris. Now he's in Australia competing in wheelchair tennis against the world's best, and in honor of his comeback, we interviewed him so we could share his inspiring story.

Adam's story is one of courage and perseverance. Read a personal interview with him here and send him your support in the comments below.

🔗 https://israelparasport.org/adam-reclaiming-the-courts-2-years-after-oct-7th/

Pictured is Adam at the 2024 Paris Paralympics waving the Israeli flag on the court following a game.

Credit: Lilach Weiss Rosenberg

01/15/2026

We're so proud of Guy Sasson as he finishes his first day at the Adelaide International, Australia🎾

Guy faced off against Sam Schroder (world #2) in a hard-fought battle which he ultimately lost. This time.

In his doubles match, Guy teamed up with world #1 Niels Vink. The duo secured a solid victory to move forward in the bracket.

Guy and Niels will continue their doubles run tomorrow.

Keep it up, Guy!

01/14/2026

We're so excited that Guy Sasson (world no. 3) will be playing alongside his peers - the best quad wheelchair tennis players - in the Adelaide Open which is beginning tomorrow Australia time, today US time.

Day 1 game info:

Court 2

Singles against Sam Schroder (world no. 2)
Australia time: not before 11am, Thurs, Jan 15
Israel: 2am, Jan 12
EST: 7pm, Jan 11
PST: 4pm, Jan 11

Following that game:
Doubles with Niel Vink (world no. 1) against Ahmet Kaplan (world no.4) and Sam Schroder.

Good luck!

More tournament info here:
https://www.tennis.com.au/adelaide-international/tournament/orders-of-play

01/13/2026

Sergei Lysov, Maayan Zikri and Adam Berdichevsky have completed the first of four tournaments in Australia.

Sergei (ranked no. 13) delivered an intense fight against Takuya Miki (JPN, ranked no. 10) in a three-hour battle that ended in a tight loss, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.

Here is what his coach, Ofri Lankri, shared afterward: "Sergei played a very close match today against an experienced top-10 opponent. He performed at a high level and showed great ability, and while the game didn’t go his way, his progress over the past year shows he has a bright future ahead."

While the results were not what we had hoped for, our focus now turns to the next tournaments.

Next is 500 Adelaide, starting this Thursday, January 15th, with Guy Sasson.

Stay tuned!

01/12/2026

Victorian Open Day 1

The first day on the courts in this summer-time wheelchair tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia was a real rollercoaster ride.

Sergei Lysov (world #13): Dominated his opening match, winning in just 23 minutes. Tomorrow he has a high-stakes game against world #10.

Maayan Zikri (world #18): Put up a fight against world #12 and Paris doubles Paralympic gold medalist Manami Tanaka, falling in a 6-4, 6-3 battle.

Adam Berdichevsky (world #29): Lost against World #24 Anderson Parker and in his doubles match. Major travel challenges had him arrive on the court not in his best form.

Adam's coach Ofer Sella shared: "Adam had a tough start but I fully believe he is in the best form of his career. Tennis is a lot about confidence and once Adam gets that first win, he can go far."

Stay tuned for tomorrow's schedule - Sergei is playing singles and doubles, and Maayan is playing doubles.

GO TEAM ISRAEL!

Pictured: Sergei with his coach Ofri Lankri.
Credit: Jamie Margolis

Address

1 Northfield Plaza, Suite 300
Northfield, IL
60093

Telephone

+18474412652

Website

http://israelparasport.org/

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