Zoé Maras is an aspiring, 19 year old, wheelchair tennis player from France.
Zoé was born in Génilac, a small, rural town in central France. When she was just 3 years old, she was diagnosed with a tumor in her spinal cord. After spending six months in the hospital, the tumor was completely removed. Her spinal nerves were damaged in such a way though, that she lost all function over her lower limbs. She has been a wheelchair user ever since.
Unfortunately, the small town of Génilac, was in no way adapted to wheelchair users. Sidewalks were way too high to be accessible for a wheelchair and there was no elevator in her school. Her parents had to do a hell of a job to improve the situation for her. Luckily, with the help of a very sympathetic and cooperative city council, things improved greatly in a relatively short time.
Despite her disability, Zoé has always been a very active, outgoing and energetic person. She always felt a deep urge to join her friends in every activity they were doing.
In primary school, she always insisted to take part in every PE class. Being concerned over her safety, her teacher was a bit reluctant to allow this at first, but Zoé proved she could handle almost anything. She was a good swimmer, played tennis and badminton from out of her wheelchair and even participated in wrestling, which she did from the ground.
At the age of nine, Zoé discovered wheelchair tennis. She immediately fell in love with the game and didn't hesitate in joining a tennis club in Saint-Chamond —a town not far away from where she lived— which also had a small wheelchair tennis team.
Zoé showed to have a great talent for the game and already won numerous medals and trophies in both national and international tournaments. She is now sponsored and managed by the BNP Paribas Young Talents Team. “The BNP Paribas team helped me by providing a physical trainer three times a week and mental trainer that I see every two weeks. They work together with my regular tennis coach".
Zoé is currently placed #52 on the world ranking list and she is aiming to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France!
Besides her tennis career, Zoé is also studying Health and Physical Education at the "Institut Universitaire de Technologie" in Annecy, in the East of France.
If you’d like, you can follow Zoé on her support page on Facebook!
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