WHEELCHAIR tennis star Lucy Shuker claimed three titles in 10 days in back-to-back tournaments at the Bolton Indoor Tournament – equalling her career-best world ranking.
With the Lancashire venue hosting the LTA’s first two wheelchair tennis world ranking events of the years for the first time, Shuker won seven singles matches across the ITF 3 and ITF 2 events, claiming her first singles titles in seven attempts at the annual tournament.
Having beaten USA second seed Dana Mathewson 64-60 to win the ITF 3 title, adding the women’s doubles title partnering the American, Shuker and Mathewson again reached the women’s singles final at the ITF 2 tournament before Mathewson had to withdraw due to injury.
Shuker, whose performance moved her to No5 in the world rankings, was one of three Brits to lift senior titles across the two tournaments.
Two-time Bolton Indoor champion Andy Lapthorne booked his place in the ITF 2 quad singles final before finishing runner-up to American second seed David Wagner, the player Lapthorne partnered to win last month’s Australian Open quad doubles title in Melbourne.
There was further success for 15-time Grand Slam champion Lapthorne and 19-year-old Greg Slade in the ITF 2 quad doubles final after the Brits battled back to beat the far more experienced partnership of Bryan Barten and Wagner 26 75 [10-6], thereby ending the American duo’s hopes of leaving Bolton with successive doubles titles.
The victory gave Slade the first ITF 2 title of his career.
While Shuker and Wagner completed the ITF 3 and ITF 2 tournaments with successive women’s and quad singles titles, Ruben Spaargaren, of the Netherlands, sealed the men’s singles titles at both tournaments, having started the ITF 3 tournament as top seed, but upstaging higher ranked opponents to win the ITF 2 title having started his challenge as seventh seed.
To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.
