After years away from the sport, wheelchair tennis player Anderson Parker may have thought he would never become a Paralympic athlete.
The Australian was finally able to make his debut overnight, losing in his opening men’s singles round to Argentina’s Ezequiel Casco, 7-5, 6-4.
Rain in Paris delayed their match for several hours after the duo completed nine games of the first set.
The result wasn’t what Parker had hoped for, but it was a far cry from the eight-year hiatus the 26-year-old had experienced from the sport.
A talented teenager, ranked as the sixth best junior wheelchair tennis player in the world, Parker was out of the sport when his disability was reclassified.
Parker was born with talipes, a congenital foot defect, and after a stint in wheelchair basketball, he returned to tennis when his disability was reclassified again.
He achieved his grand slam dream earlier this year when he competed at the Australian Open and was selected for the Paris Paralympic team.
Reflecting on his journey after the defeat in Paris, Parker thanked compatriot Ben Weekes for helping him return to playing at a high level.
“I couldn’t have gotten to where I am now without meeting Ben and changing all the habits I had as a junior after eight years. So yeah, it’s a little wild, it’s still a dream,” he said.
“It’s all new to me, so I’m trying to soak it up as much as I can.”
Weekes also lost in his first round match in Paris, falling to Brazilian Daniel Rodrigues 6-0, 6-1.
The two men will team up in men’s doubles as they continue their Paralympic journey in Paris.
After losing eight years of wheelchair tennis, Parker said he was in the right mindset to make the most of every opportunity.
“I tried a little bit of wheelchair basketball, and it just wasn’t for me. I know all the basketball players, and they’re all lovely people and everything, but going back to tennis, I just had eight years to find myself, get more stable with my brain,” he said.
“It’s still getting there, but it’s a lot more stable since I was a junior. So now it’s kind of reopened, and now I have all the energy and fight to get here.”
