Black History Month Profile: Sachia Vickery

Never in tennis history have there been as many promising, talented African-American tennis players as there are today. In celebration of Black History Month, here is a look at one of those players – following in the tradition of Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters – who is on the cusp of breaking through and leaving her very own imprint on the top ranks of the professional game.

The Sachia Vickery File

Age: 20
Hometown: Miramar, FL
Current Rank: 136
Career-High Rank: 108 (July 2015)

Getting to Know Sachia Vickery:

• Vickery was born in Hollywood, Fla., and currently trains with Adrian Zeman at his academy in Deerfield Beach, Fla. She previously trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France – the academy’s namesake, Patrick Mouratoglou, is the coach of Serena Williams, one of Vickery’s tennis idols – and at the USTA Player Development National Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla.
   
• Vickery comes from an athletic family. Her dad, Rawle, was a professional soccer player; her mom, Paula Liverpool, ran high school track; and her brother, Dominique Mitchell, played college football at South Carolina State and Campbell University.
   
• Vickery won the 2013 USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships in both singles and doubles, earning a wild card into both events at the 2013 US Open. In New York, the former world No. 6-ranked junior defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni for her first Grand Slam victory. She also earned a wild card into the 2014 Australian Open by winning the USTA’s Australian Open Wild Card Playoff.
   
• She nearly cracked the Top 100 in 2015 after capturing the first two professional singles titles of her career, both on the USTA Pro Circuit; advancing to the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon tune-up in Nottingham, England; and competing in the main draws at Wimbledon (as a qualifier) and the US Open (as a wild card).
   
• The 5-foot-4 Vickery is an all-court player who relies on her movement to control action on the court. Her best stroke is her double-fisted backhand.