Britain’s wheelchair tennis legend shares how the sport helped her accept her disability and her dreams of greater access across the world
“There are thousands of people out there that have a disability. Just because you have one doesn’t mean you have to stop living,” says Lucy Shuker as she calmly reflects on her journey of more than two decades and the message she hopes it conveys. It is fair to say Shuker has embodied those sentiments in full. At 44 years old, she has been an unceasing presence at the highest level of wheelchair tennis, making her one of the most successful British players.
This journey began with life-changing adversity. Aged 21, shortly after graduating from university and passing her driving test, Shuker was involved in a motorcycle crash that left her paralysed from the chest down. She spent 10 months in hospital as she tried to come to terms with the reality that three-quarters of her body no longer worked.
