Paralympian Lucy Shuker indebted to wheelchair tennis for giving her some ‘joy’

Lucy Shuker, bidding for a fourth Paralympics wheelchair tennis medal, said discovering the sport had transformed her after she “lost her sparkle” following a motorbike crash which left her paralyzed from the chest down.
Just 21 years old when she suffered the life-changing injury, Shuker, now 44, has become one of the finest doubles players in the world.
Two bronze medals (in 2008 and 2012) and a silver in Tokyo have led to her being honored by King Charles III last year, which she described as “humbling.”
The Qatar-born British player will team up with Abbie Breakwell — who was just 5 when Shuker made her Paralympics debut in Beijing in 2008 — in the women’s doubles, which gets underway Friday.
Shuker has shown good form on the clay of Roland Garros, having once reached the French Open singles semifinals and the semifinals of the doubles on three occasions.
Frustratingly for Shuker, she and her partner have never been able to quite edge over the winning line, having suffered eight defeats in Grand Slam finals (five at Wimbledon and three at the Australian Open) attesting to some “heartbreaking” moments.
Those disappointments are nothing, of course, in comparison to how she felt in the aftermath of the crash.
Only 12 days after she had obtained her license and, as she said, “just setting out in the big wide world,” she collided with both a telegraph pole and a post box.
“I was lying there in hospital, not sure what life would be like,” she said in an interview on Thursday.
However, just as life had robbed her of her mobility in one cruel moment, so it offered up another opportunity as she met Peter Norfolk, a former quad Paralympics singles tennis champion, who was undergoing rehab in hospital.
“He lent me a tennis chair to try and help me readjust to life,” she said. “I had lost my self-confidence and sparkle, and I am really incredibly grateful to tennis in giving me some joy back.”
Shuker, who is ranked 15th in the world, says that she still cannot believe how her career has bloomed, having originally thought wheelchair tennis would be just a social activity.
“Having thought of how I would readjust to what life was like in a wheelchair to take it to the level I have is insane,” she said.
“I have the unconditional love of my partner and family, who every single day have to put you back together again and who I put through a lot as a result of the accident.
“I showed, too, having been told I was too disabled to compete with the top players that nobody can tell you what you can or cannot do.
“Whether it is for some a small win to get out of bed or striving to be a Paralympian.
“I have done the latter. Three medals, in the final last time, made history with Jordanne Whiley in becoming the first British women to win Paralympics medals in tennis in London.”
Shuker says the medals are not what she regards as a marker of success.
“When one reads 1% who have a disability become Paralympians it is an incredible achievement in itself,” she said.
“Sometimes people measure success on winning or losing, and medals, but it is not just that it is being part of a team, representing your country.”
Shuker, who says she is fortunate to be able to sustain her career via funding and sponsorships, as prize money is poor apart from the Grand Slams, is awestruck at how her career has attracted the attention of the British Royal Family.
She was caught by an eagle-eyed photographer at Wimbledon this year making a “pinky promise” with Princess Charlotte.
“It is insane to think of my career, my experiences at the Grand Slams and meeting the Royal Family,” she said.
“The ‘pinky promise’ with Charlotte captured by one of the photographers, I treasure it.
“I hope it inspires more Lucy’s, attract more girls to the sport.”