Abbie Breakwell taking the positives after early exit at first Paralympics

By James Toney in Paris

Abbie Breakwell is determined to accentuate the positives of her Paralympic debut in Paris.

The 21-year-old from Long Eaton exited the women's wheelchair singles to American Maylee Phelps in the first round on Saturday, going down 6-3 6-4.

It followed less than 24 hours after she lost in straight sets in the women's doubles with Lucy Shuker on Roland Garros's famous Suzanne Lenglen show court.

"It was definitely a match going that I thought I had a possibility of winning," said Breakwell, who is part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme in partnership with ParalympicsGB, helping to maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance.

"It wasn’t a guarantee but it was definitely a chance but that just wasn’t to be so I'm disappointed.

"I need to work a lot more on my psychological side of what to do in certain scenarios in these big games. Don’t get me wrong, I have worked on that, and it has got a lot better over the time I’ve been playing, especially in the past year.

"I had a lot of opportunities there to gain games and I just didn’t quite take them. I’ve only been playing nine years, and this is my first ever Paralympics. To be here is just an honour in itself.

"It's exactly eight years since my first national competition as a junior, I'm really proud of that journey and not many people can call themselves a Paralympian."

Breakwell will still take home plenty of positive memories from Paris as she looks to climb the world rankings and start contesting Grand Slam events.

French Open venue Roland Garros is the first Slam home to host the Games, London 2012 was held in Lee Valley rather than Wimbledon, which staged the Olympics a few weeks earlier.

"You want to play at the big venues, going out on Centre Court and seeing all those people watching wheelchair tennis was huge for me,” added Breakwell. “It's great exposure for the sport.

“Being here with friends I've come through the ranks with, like Gregory Slade and Dahnon Ward, that's been special too. Experiencing it all together for the first time is a really good memory."

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.