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Guy Sasson was stunned by the noise when he walked onto the court for the Australian Open’s wheelchair singles competition in 2024.
The Israeli was attending a grand slam for the first time since the Hamas attack on October 7 and said he will never forget the reception he received from the crowd.
A man carrying an Israeli flag attends a memorial service for the victims of the Bondi terror attack in Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
“I played at the KIA Arena in the finals and many people came with flags. They didn’t know tennis, but they knew that an Israeli player was here. It didn’t matter whether he was in a wheelchair or not. They came and were very supportive,” he said.
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Sasson, who mentioned that he was Jewish, shared a post on Instagram at the beginning of January after the Bondi terrorist attack last year.
“After what happened in Sydney, I’m even more motivated to come and demonstrate and represent our flag and our people,” he said in the video.
Following his decision win over Donald Ramphadi earlier today, Sasson told this imprint that it was important for him to connect with his community.
“It’s really important for me to be here, to be able to perform on a stage like this, to give them the opportunity to come with the Israeli flag or our religion as a Jewish people and to come forward and say, ‘Yes, we are Jews and we are not ashamed of it,'” he said.
Sasson, who was paralyzed from the knees down as a result of a snowboarding accident in 2015, said tennis gave him a new perspective on life and he can’t wait to see the sport develop.
“We know that year after year more and more people come to watch us,” he said.
“If we continue like this, the sport will grow. More players will come and join us and of course, maybe the next generation will have a future.” [will be] “Even better than ours.”
