Sachia Vickery, despite not being born in Guyana, would let the world know that her heart belongs to the homeland of her parents Rawle Vickery and Paula Liverpool, as she showed many that she belongs in tennis and isn’t going anywhere.

Vickery missed, by one point, a chance to play Maria Sharapova at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in the third round of the US Open, after losing to 18-year-old Sofia Kenin.

Playing on Court 10 at the Flushing Meadows facility, Vickery went down 3-6 in the first set, but rebounded to win the second 6-4.

A series of errors coupled with some strong plays by Kenin, saw Vickery battling hard to come back.
However, when the dust was settled it was the 18-year-old Kenin who came out on top in the third set 7-6 to win the ‘humdinger’ of a match.

It was a truly phenomenal performance by the 22-year-old who had an overwhelming support by the Caribbean community both on and off the court at the US Open this year, especially given the fact that she blew away everyone that stood in her way, starting from the qualifiers.

“She’ll be back! She’s a trooper!” said her mother Paula Liverpool. Both of Sachia’s parents are from Region 10; her mother is from Kwakwani, while her father is from Christianburg, Wismar and known for his exploits on the football pitch.

This year’s US Open appearance was her second, having also featured at the Australian Open, the French Open (2016) and Wimbledon (2015).

In 2013, Guyanese, just like the rest of the world, zeroed in on a then 18-year-old Sasha Vickery, playing at her first Grand Slam – the U.S. Open.

Her opponent was Mirjana Lučić-Baroni; a 28 year-old Croatian who had once reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

Vickery won the match against Baroni 6 – 4, 6 – 4 to reach the (U.S. Open) second round where she played Julia Glushko of Israel and went down 5 – 7, 3 – 6.

It was at the U.S. Open, where the eyes of millions watching around the world, noticed her distinct rich yellow gold earrings of a miniature map of Guyana and her wristbands of the Golden Arrow Head.
Sachia Vickery took the tiny South American country to the U.S. Open.

Sachia stands at 5′ 4″ (163 cm), weighing 145 lbs (66 kg) and is now ranked 128 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), with her highest being 108.

“Guyana is where my whole family is from and I consider myself mostly Guyanese though I was born in America. I feel like it’s my home” the diminutive but powerful Vickery said with a wide smile during her exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport on a short visit to Guyana in 2015.

“I will always represent Guyana because it’s a reminder of all the struggles and things my mother did to help me to where I am today, so no, I wasn’t born in Guyana but I feel like I owe a lot to the country because of my mother,” Vickery said.

Vickery would visit Guyana to get some ‘down time’ from the sport and would use it to interact with family and share her knowledge of the game to aspiring Guyanese Tennis players.

“The thing is, I don’t think Guyana was successful in getting people to play Tennis as much, so I know they would look up to me and it’s nice getting support from them as well. I always receive a lot of support from the Guyanese community. I get tons of messages from them and a few have come to see me play at Wimbledon so I love the support,” Vickery highlighted.

Indeed, not much African American women play the sport of Tennis, much less being ranked in the world and Vickery told Chronicle Sport that, “We (black Tennis players) are representing a race; young black people who look up to us. Every time I step on the court, I tell myself that I’m not only playing for me, but for other young African American girls who would love to play but don’t have that support system to back them or to take them to the next level to be a pro. It’s hard, but it also keeps me focused because you’re playing for more than just that prize money.”

Serena Williams and Martina Hingis are her favourite players but Vickery pointed out, “I don’t try to emulate anyone because everyone have their own style of play, but I really try to do the best I can with the game that I have because I’m a lot different from a lot of people on the tour. Most people are bigger than me and I always have to play extra hard.”