“I think British Wheelchair Tennis has a very bright future"
World No.5 Lucy Shuker in action during the Australian Open earlier this year
With another World Team Cup behind us world No.5, Lucy Shuker, talks exciting times ahead.
Rewind back to the beginning of May and Great Britain’s wheelchair squad were packing their bags, preparing to take off to sunny Portugal where they would represent their country at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup. With divisions for men, women, quads and juniors, the World Team Cup is an annual event – equivalent to that of the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.
After being forced to sit out of the tournament due to illness, the women’s British No.1 Lucy Shuker reflects on what she believes has been a successful World Team Cup performance by the Brits.
“I think, looking back at the World Team Cup as a whole – so, the men’s, the women’s, the juniors, and the quads – the future is looking very positive,” said Shuker.
“When you break it down and look at each team, every team was down a core player. In the men’s Gordon Reid wasn’t there, in the women’s I wasn’t there, Andy Lapthorne wasn’t in the quads division, and Ben Bartram played up from the Juniors to the men’s. So, there were real key members that weren’t there, and yet, there were some great performances.”
Despite each team missing key players, their results were nothing short of admirable having returned with some noteworthy doubles and individual performances, and for the juniors, even a medal.
“The Juniors got silver, and with fresh players that had never competed at World Team Cups. So, to come through that and get a silver medal is fantastic!
“The men’s came fifth, the women’s came sixth, and the quads came seventh – having had an amazing result against America.”
Faced with an American side brimming with talent, the quads put on an impeccable show, defeating some of the biggest names in the sport to win the tie 2-1.
“Greg Slade beat Bryan Barten – one of the top American players – and then they won the doubles, so that was a big win for them. In fact, David Wagner has won numerous gold medals and Grand Slams, so to get that win is fantastic!”
Although not all divisions returned with silverware, Shuker has high hopes for the future after witnessing promising performances across the board in Portugal.
I think British Wheelchair Tennis has a very bright future. It’s exciting to see some of the juniors stepping up into the men’s and the women’s team, and for those still playing in the junior event, just seeing the ball striking that they are doing – it’s incredible!
“Dan and Ben are great players, and they have had some amazing results this year on the tour. You’ve also got Abbie and Ruby - two girls that came up into the women’ team, and they were absolutely integral to us winning matches.
“So, for me, I look at it and find it exciting. It shows that there is good depth amongst the teams and across the LTA’s entire programme.”