Paralympic medalist Shuker ends 24-year tennis career

British wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker has retired after 24 years as a professional and three Paralympic medals.

The 46-year-old represented GB at five consecutive Paralympics and won one silver medal and two bronze between 2012 and 2020, in the women’s doubles alongside Jordanne Whiley.

A nine-time Grand Slam finalist and seven-time World Team Cup medalist, Shuker announced during Wimbledon this year that she would retire at the end of the season.

At the time she had 98 doubles titles and achieved her aim of reaching 100 earlier this month, when she and Ruby Bishop won at the WC50 Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Shuker also won 39 singles titles.

She was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to sport in 2023 and was GB’s flagbearer for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

“I would like to congratulate Lucy on her fantastic career and thank her for the contribution she has made to wheelchair tennis both on and off the court,” said the LTA’s chief executive Scott Lloyd.

“To compete at the highest level of the game for over 20 years is a remarkable achievement and testament to her dedication and professionalism.

“She has been, and will continue to be, a passionate advocate for the development of the sport and we look forward to working with her to continue to grow the game for future generations.”

Her last match came on Wednesday at the Wheelchair Tennis Finals in Barcelona, where she and Ksenia Chasteau were beaten 6-3 6-1 by the Dutch pair of Diede de Groot and Aniek Van Koot.

Shuker spent most of her career ranked just outside the world’s top 10 and ends her career ranked 23rd in the world, the British number two behind Cornelia Oosthuizen (20).