Wheelchair tennis has restored Shuker's 'joy' in life

Paris - Lucy Shuker (right), bidding for a fourth Paralympics wheelchair tennis medal, told AFP discovering the sport had transformed her after she "lost her sparkle" following a motorbike crash which left her paralysed from the chest down.

Just 21 when she suffered the life-changing injury Shuker, now 44, has become one of the finest doubles players in the world.

Two bronze medals (2008/2012) and a silver in Tokyo have contributed to her being honoured by King Charles III last year, which she described as "humbling." The Qatar-born Briton teams up with Abbie Breakwell - who was just five when Shuker made her Paralympics debut in Beijing in 2008 in the women's doubles, which gets underway on Friday.

Shuker has some good form on the clay of Roland-Garros, having once reached the French Open singles semifinals and the last-four of the doubles on three occasions.