Injury curtails Zion Hickerson’s impressive run at Junior Tennis tour in Paris

Zion Hickerson showed a fighting spirit at the Ten-Pro Global Junior Tennis Tour in Paris, producing a spirited performance despite an untimely injury.

The Guyanese player endured a difficult start to the tournament, but rallied to compete in two high-intensity matches, showcasing his potential on the international stage.

Hickerson, who was competing against a strong field of nearly 300 mostly European athletes, sustained a mild case of runner’s knee during a training run the day before the event began. The injury hampered his movement and led to a 6-0, 6-0 loss in his opening match to Denmark’s Niels Christian Ulrik.

However, the 2.5-hour comeback victory against his Lithuanian opponent on the second day of competition, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, showed Hickerson’s resilience. He followed that with another fiercely contested match against Dutchman Alexander Rak, narrowly losing 7-5, 7-5 in a two-hour battle. Hickerson had been leading 5-2 in the first set but was unable to hold on.

He will now focus on rest and recovery before heading to the UK for the Georgians Open and a camp at Crystal Palace Football Club.

Zion Hickerson’s participation was made possible with the support of: Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sports, Enet, Beacon Cafe, BK SuperMix, Demerara Mutual, Guyoil, Guywillship, Tri-Stone, MVP Sports, Smalta, C&L Construction, Bumper to Bumper Service, Mike’s Pharmacy, Shi-Oil, Fireside, and Jai Signs.