MY 15TH WORLD TEAM CUP APPEARANCE FOR GREAT BRTAIN WAS AN INCREDIBLE TEAM EXPERIENCE.
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May 14, 2025
I’ve just been to Turkey for my fifteenth World Team Cup – the wheelchair tennis version of the Davis Cup or Billie Jean Cup. It is the 40th edition of the event – and featured 44 teams from 20 nations across the men’s, women’s, quad and junior teams. This was the one chance in the year for all the best players to come together and showcase wheelchair tennis as we continue to push our sport to the next level.
Since I’ve been playing on the women’s team, we’ve won four bronze and three silver medals – and I’m always very proud to represent Team GB. This time we finished fourth and I enjoyed a personal highlight to help us reach the semi-finals. I was 0-4 down against Brazil’s Jade Lanai, having already lost the first set. But I battled back to win 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) – and then teamed up with Cornelia Oosthuizen to take the deciding rubber in the doubles.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be against second-seeded Japan in the semi-finals. And this time we were pipped to bronze by France in the play-offs. But it was still a memorable occasion and a successful one for the British. Congratulations to the GB men’s and quad teams for winning bronze medals. The future is also bright with British juniors Ruben Harris, Lucas de Gouveia, Matt Knoesen and Will Barton winning gold by beating the USA in the final. Of course I’d love to see a British girl in the junior team at World Team Cup soon as well.
Over the past few months, I’ve also been in a good place with my tennis. I won three titles in the USA recently, including my first singles title since 2023 and 36th in all, this time at the Cougar Open in Houston with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over my compatriot Cornelia. Not bad for a 44-year-old!
A 91st doubles title was secured at the Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge alongside Aniek van Koot a few weeks earlier. We beat Japan’s Manami Tanaka and China’s Zhenzen Zhu to secure my first Super Series level title since 2019.
In between those two events came a memorable experience at the Miami Open Invitational. Aniek and I beat Colombia’s Angelica Bernal and Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana 6-3, 7-5. That gave us each an identical trophy to the one Ayrna Sabalenka lifted in Miami too. (You can see it in the photo here). The courts were fast and you get the feeling the wheelchair tournament in Miami is really going to take off in future, after an understandably cautious start from the organisers, who seem to want to make sure they have everything in place for us before expanding.
I came close to more success in the doubles in Japan not long after America, but it wasn’t to be, even though we had match point again in the final there against Zhu and Tanaka. Despite that frustration, I’m taking a lot of comfort from the overall process at the moment.
The Grand Slam before Wimbledon is of course Roland Garros. Unfortunately this year I have not qualified directly, the game is growing all the time and there has been some really exciting young talent coming through. Of course I would like one more shot on the red clay in Paris. If I were to be awarded a wild card to compete there, the plan would be to partner up with a French woman named Pauline Deroulede. That would make it especially fun to play, as the crowd would definitely be on our side!
But for now I’ll take nothing for granted and keep working hard to make the most of any chances that come my way.
I’ll be letting you know how it all goes,
Love, Lucy x