Britain’s wheelchair tennis number one Lucy Shuker says she is still “hungry” to win her first Grand Slam title as she prepares for Wimbledon.
The 43-year-old will be making her 13th appearance at the All England Club and has reached five doubles finals – and eight overall in majors.
But she has yet to have her name engraved on the winners’ trophy.
“I am still chasing that goal and that dream,” she said. “To win my first in a home Grand Slam would be incredible.”
Shuker, from Bournemouth, won her first singles title of the season in April at the ITF3 UH Cougar Open, beating American Emmy Kaiser in three sets.
The Paralympic silver medallist also claimed her first doubles crown of 2023 at the Georgia Open with playing partner Dana Mathewson, beating the number one seeds Kgothatso Montjane and Aniek van Koot in a deciding match tie-break.
Shuker believes her form is trending in the right direction, but she is not getting carried away.
“All that experience doesn’t necessarily give me any extra confidence or nerves,” she told BBC South Today.
“My hunger and ability is still there but everything just needs to come together on the day.
“I’ll be up against the best in the world [at Wimbledon] and that is really challenging but I’m putting in the hard work to put myself in position to claim a major title.
“If it doesn’t happen, I’ve had an amazing career and I’m still chasing.”
Shuker is using Eastbourne as a warm-up event before Wimbledon, where she will compete in both the singles and doubles.
She will take a week off to make any adjustments before the wheelchair events get under way at SW19.
“As a team we are always looking at my game and re-evaluating it to see where I need to improve,” Shuker added.
“I’m really excited. I just got a new tennis wheelchair that has been delivered. It’s an awesome piece of equipment and I’m going to get into it and see if I can be comfortable in it for Eastbourne and Wimbledon.
“I have to be honest, the movement on grass is incredibly tough so even a few tweaks to my chair will hopefully help my game.
“I’m just really excited for this year’s Wimbledon – to play in a home Grand Slam is the ultimate tennis player’s dream.”
