Adam Berdichevsky (; born 19 October 1983) is an Israeli mechanical engineer and competitive

wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis Adaptive sport, adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designe ...

player.
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He represented

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

at the

2016 Rio Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 Sept ...

and the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

. He represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, in both singles and doubles. Berdichevsky was born in

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Nir Yitzhak in the

Gaza envelope The Gaza envelope (, ''otef aza'') encompasses the populated areas in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel that are within of the Gaza Strip border and are therefore within range of Mortar (weapon), mortar shells and Qas ...

. He served in the

Israeli military The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, an ...

, where he met his wife. He later studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Ben Gurion University Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli national founder David Ben-Gurion, the university was founded in 1969 and currently has f ...

and

Ariel University Ariel University (), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The college preceding the establishment of Ariel Unive ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree, and now works as a mechanical engineer. He lost most of his left leg in a boating accident during a vacation in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in 2007. Berdichevsky, his wife, and their three children survived the

2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...

. , Berdichevsky was ranked number 1 in men's wheelchair tennis in

. As of 26 August 2024, he was ranked number 41 globally in singles and number 63 in doubles by the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. there are 211 nat ...

(each lower than any ranking he had in the six years prior to the

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

attack), while his career-highs were number 20 in singles and number 28 in doubles.

Early life

Berdichevsky was born in, grew up in, and has raised his family in

Nir Yitzhak in the

. Speaking in 2019 of Hamas missile attacks on the kibbutz, he said: "I will not give Hamas the satisfaction of my fleeing from the kibbutz. This is my home." He served in the

Nahal Brigade The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces' main infantry brigades. It has operated in all major wars and large-scale operations since its inception in 1982, playing key roles during the 1982 and the 2006 Lebanon Wars and t ...

, which was where he met his wife, Hila. He later studied

and

, where he earned a bachelor's degree, and now works as a mechanical engineer. He speaks both Hebrew and English.

Personal life

Accident

After completing his service in the military, Berdichevsky and his girlfriend (now wife) Hila went on a year of travel. After visiting Australia and New Zealand, in September 2007 they stopped in Thailand. Four days before their planned return to

, while on a ferry trip off the islands of

southern Thailand Southern Thailand (formerly Southern Siam and Tambralinga) is the southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bo ...

, the ferry was caught in a strong storm near

Ko Phi Phi The Phi Phi Islands (, , ) are an island group in Thailand between the large island of Krabi and the Straits of Malacca coast of Thailand. The islands are administratively part of Krabi Province. Ko Phi Phi Don (, ) (''ko'' 'island') is the l ...

. When the ferry began to capsize, sink, and overturn, the two jumped into the water. Berdichevsky was caught in the engine's motor and propeller, which severed most of his left leg and nearly severed his right leg; a fellow Israeli was killed in the accident. Berdichevsky underwent rehabilitation at

Soroka Medical Center Soroka University Medical Center (, ''HaMerkaz HaRefu'i Soroka''), a part of the Clalit Health Services Group, is the general hospital of Beersheba, Israel, it serves as the central hospital of the region and provides medical services to approx ...

. He now uses

prostheses In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...

to walk.

2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel

Berdichevsky, his wife Hila, and their three young children were living in the

of Nir Yitzhak, two miles from Gaza, when it was attacked by

forces on

7 October 2023 On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...

. They hid in a

safe room A safe room or panic room is a fortified room that is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break in, home invasion, tornado, terror attack, or other th ...

in their home. According to Berdichevsky, he armed himself with two knives from his kitchen, and told his children to hide under beds if militants broke in. The family heard heavy

Kalashnikov rifle Kalashnikov rifles (), also known as the AK platform, AK rifles, or simply the AK, are a family of assault rifles based on Mikhail Kalashnikov's original design. They are officially known in Russian as ''avtomat Kalashnikova'' (), and informally ...

fire and the sounds of militants attacking and killing their neighbors. Four of the family's close friends were killed before the Israel Defense Forces arrived. Ten months later Berdichevsky said, of 7 October: "Of course, all the time it runs through my head. You can't stop thinking about it." Berdichevsky said that since the attack: "for me nothing is really important. If I lose, I lose. If I win, I win. Before that, if I was losing a match, it took me one or two days to be okay." Following the attack, the family was evacuated to

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

, Israel. The day of the attack, his best friend and fellow Israeli wheelchair tennis player

Guy Sasson Guy Sasson (; born April 28, 1980) is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player. He has won two singles majors at the 2024 and 2025 French Opens. His highest world ranking in singles is No. 3, and in doubles is No. 4, both on September 2, 2024. He won ...

invited Berdichevsky and his family to

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where Sasson was living temporarily as his wife pursued her medical studies. In December, his family moved temporarily to Texas to live near Sasson.

Wheelchair tennis career

Before playing wheelchair tennis, Berdichevsky was a para-swimmer for about four years. Berdichevsky started practicing wheelchair tennis in 2013, and has won six Israeli national titles (in both singles and doubles in 2018, 2020, and 2021), and represented Israel at six World Championships. As of August 2024, he had won 21 international singles titles and 13 international doubles titles. He is a member of club Spivak Ilan Ramat Gan, and is coached by Ofer Sela. At the

, he competed in the men's singles competition, and came in 14th."Adam Berdichevsky ,"
International Paralympic Committee. At the

, Berdichevsky competed in both men's singles (coming in 10th) and men's doubles (losing in the round prior to the quarterfinals).

2024–present; Paris Paralympics

Berdichevsky served as one of Israel's

flagbearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

s, alongside Lihi Ben-David, in the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

2024 Paris Paralympics Parade of Nations. He represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in singles, and in doubles with Israeli Sergei Lysov, at 40 years of age. Berdichevsky competed in his first singles match at the Paris Paralympics on 30 August 2024. A group of 30 survivors from his kibbutz, including twins whose father was still a hostage in Gaza, were there to cheer him on, holding up

Israeli flag The flag of the State of Israel ( ; ) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. It consists of a white background with a blue Star of David in the centre and two horizontal blue stripes at the ...

s and messages in Hebrew, along with his wife and their children ages 6, 9, and 10. Approximately 6,000 spectators watched as he played on the

Suzanne Lenglen Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...

court at Roland Garros. He beat Italian player Luca Arca in straight sets in men's singles in the first round, and said "I'm very happy that I could give some good times in these bad days." He was defeated by Chilean Alexander Cataldo in the second round.

References

External links

*
"Go60! Adam Berdichevsky Wheelchair Tennis Challenge Promo,"
Israel ParaSport Center, 2021 (''video'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Berdichevsky, Adam 1983 births Living people 21st-century Israeli sportsmen Ariel University alumni Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni Israeli male tennis players Israeli wheelchair tennis players Kibbutzniks Paralympic wheelchair tennis players for Israel Sportspeople from Southern District (Israel) Wheelchair tennis players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2024 Summer Paralympics