LUCY SHUKER
Wheelchair Tennis
"You have to believe in yourself – that’s the key. “
Lucy started playing Wheelchair Tennis in 2002 following a motorbike accident that left her paralysed from the chest down. She has since gone on to represent Great Britain at three successive Paralympics; Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Lucy made history at the London 2012 Paralympics alongside fellow Brit Jordanne Whiley MBE when the pair became the first women to win a medal for Great Britain in wheelchair tennis,
“Hand on heart I feel very fortunate to do something every day that I absolutely love. I love the game of tennis, from the training to the competitions. I love the challenge of the game and the additional challenge of my disability and trying to find new ways to be the best version of me that I can be. Wheelchair tennis has given me some fantastic opportunities; I’ve travelled the world and met so many incredible people as a result of my accident. Before my accident I was very sporty and enjoyed a number of sports. In particular I played badminton to quite a high level, so yes I guess I have always had a competitive streak.”
Lucy is an inspiration to many and as one of the most disabled women on tour, Lucy continues to find success amongst the top players in the game. With her sights now firmly set on more success in Tokyo, Lucy is aiming to represent Great Britain at a fourth consecutive Paralympic Games.
Sponsorship from Path to Success is greatly appreciated and at the same time I take pride in championing female disability sport and inspiring a new generation of female Paralympic stars through striving to achieve my own sporting goals.
“For me, sport has always been an incredibly important part of my life, and even more so after my accident. It gave me purpose and an opportunity to succeed again. I have met so many wonderful people through wheelchair tennis and I would really credit the sport for pulling me out of some pretty dark times after I was first injured. Sport is a wonderful mechanism to not only live a healthy lifestyle, but it can give you lots of opportunities and to also socialise with like minded people.“
“My aspirations in wheelchair tennis are still to win a Grand Slam title as well as strive towards a Gold Medal. The Paralympic Games are considered the pinnacle of our sport and that is what everyone is working towards.”
2019
"A huge positive for me at the end of this year is finishing the year ranked World No.4 in Doubles. This is my highest year end doubles World Ranking since 2010 and my highest World Ranking since 2013 when I reached a doubles career high of World No.3.
Reaching the year end Doubles Masters final alongside 5 other International titles this year with 3 different partners has definitely shown good consistency on the doubles court.
2019 also brought about a career milestone for me as I achieved 100 career ITF titles and now have 31 career singles and 73 career doubles titles to my name.
Alongside these achievements this year I have also enjoyed setting up a new team around me. Breaking down my game and in some ways reinventing aspects of my tennis. It’s not been an easy year and the biggest challenge has definitely been accepting that sometimes you have to take a step backwards to move forwards."