Four Brits on the Tennis Foundation's Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme have qualified for the Invacare Doubles Masters, the year-end highlight for the world's top doubles players, after the International Tennis Federation announced the entries today.
After contesting the Invacare Doubles Masters together last year, Gordon Reid and Marc McCarroll will contest the men's doubles again this year, but with overseas partners, while London 2012 bronze medallists Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley will also contest the women's doubles with different partners when the event is held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from November 14 – 18.
Reid has qualified for the fourth successive year and will partner Dutchman Ronald Vink, who he won the Polish Open men's doubles title with in 2009. They are the third ranked team to qualify for the Doubles Masters based on their combined rankings this week.
McCarroll also has winning form with his partner, Tadeusz Kruszelnicki of Poland, after they won the men's doubles at the Biel-Bienne Indoor last year.
Shuker has finished runner-up in the Doubles Masters three times in the last six years, including with Whiley as her partner in 2010. The British No. 1 partners Belgium's Annick Sevenans this year, having partnered Sevenans to win the women's doubles at the ITF 1 Series Belgian Open in July.
Meanwhile, Whiley, who partnered Shuker as they finished runners-up at Wimbledon this year before going on to win bronze at London 2012, will partner Germany's Katharina Kruger in this year's Doubles Masters.
"After having three Brits qualify for the Singles Masters earlier this week, it's great to have more British representation at the Doubles Masters and highlights what a successful year 2012 has been for British wheelchair tennis," said The Tennis Foundation's Head of Disability Player Performance, Geraint Richards.
"Playing with different partners will give the players a new challenge after the Paralympics, and they can take this invaluable experience into their British pairings ahead of Rio 2016."
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