Wimbledon 2022: Shuker looks to break that final jinx in SW19

By James Toney at Wimbledon

Lucy Shuker believes she's in the shape to finally end her wait for a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

The four-time Paralympian from Hampshire has reached nine major women's wheelchair doubles finals in her career, including five here at the All England Club. However, she has yet to experience that winning feeling.

Shuker won Paralympic silver with Jordanne Whiley in Tokyo last year but will partner Dutch player Kgothatso Montjane in SW19.

"I'm looking forward to having another player on my side of the net,” said Shuker, who is supported by the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Pathway.

"My game really suits doubles, I get more chance to move to the net and I can volley and play my drop shots too.

"KJ and I have games styles really set each other up. If we execute our plan we'll have every chance."

Shuker can now focus on her doubles campaign after losing her quarter-finals singles match to Japan's Momoko Ohtani 6-2 6-2.

The 42-year old admits grass is a surface she struggles with but she certainly had chances in the match to push her opponent harder in front of a partisan crowd on Court 14.

"I started okay and the first set felt really close but she just served really well and I got sloppy and made too many errors," she added.

"You just can't make mistakes against girls of this quality, they will punish you every time. Only the top eight in the world get the chance to play Wimbledon, just getting here is incredibly tough.

"Grass is the toughest surface with my movement but I try to adapt my game style to exploit the other player and I just didn't do that well enough."

Meanwhile, Shuker - in her 12th appearance here - admits she hopes the field will soon be expanded to include more of the world's top players.

"I'd love to open up the draw and get more players here," she said.

"The French Open is now 12 players and the US Open is 16. Wimbledon are huge supporters of wheelchair tennis and I'm sure in the future it'll grow because the depth is there amongst the players. The top players in the world are all regularly beating each other – which makes it so exciting to watch.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA Website