Lucy Shuker has fueled the dreams of hundreds of para-athletes as Britain's top-ranked active player in women's wheelchair tennis, with several medals and over 100 international career titles.
In 2021, she won her third Paralympic medal in doubles with Jordanne Whiley, who announced her retirement from the sport this month, and she reached her fifth Wimbledon final. She had no idea 20 years ago, in the aftermath of the accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down, that she would embark on an athletic journey.
"When I take a step back and look at my career, I was 21 when I had a motorbike accident and broke my back," she said. "In a heartbeat, my life changed forever. It was at a time when you couldn't turn to social media and the internet to explore what was out there, to see what was possible."
Pete Norfolk, who began playing the sport a decade after his own motorbike accident and went on to win Paralympic gold in quad singles in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, earning the nickname "The Quadfather," met her when purchasing her first wheelchair.
Shuker, who had previously represented Hampshire in badminton, recognized her talent right away. "Finding tennis through meeting Pete helped me to accept my disability. I struggled at times mentally but sport changed my life. I thought I was too disabled to compete with the top girls in wheelchair tennis but qualifying for Beijing as my first game proved people wrong.
From there on, it's been incredible. It just shows that if you put your mind to it, if you work hard, you really can do it. And I've loved the journey, through all the highs and lows. We often judge someone's success based on their wins but although I haven't yet won a Paralympics gold medal, I'm really happy with the achievements I have got." Shuker said.
"I don't feel like I want to retire yet - I'm still improving," she added "Paris is less than three years away now, which is close in terms of a Games cycle. I hope to be in that doubles team, and I'll be looking to compete in the singles anyway. It excites me actually because we have some strong players coming through. It will be a case of seeing out of us who's performing, and trying the different partnerships."