Tone Leisure, the charitable trust that operates sports and leisure facilities on behalf of local authorities, has welcomed back one of its FANS (Free Access for National Sportspeople) scheme's sporting stars after having reached the finals of the Australian Open in the wheelchair tennis event.

Britain's Lucy Shuker, who trains at Tone's Taunton Tennis Club in Somerset, reached the tournament final in the doubles event before narrowly losing in a second set tie break.

She is now back in Britain to train in Taunton before jetting off to the US to compete in three major tournaments which should help push her rankings up in time for Wimbledon 2010.

Since returning to Britain, Lucy has already added women's singles and doubles titles at the North East Wheelchair tennis Tournament to her long list of sporting achievements. Lucy, who was paralysed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident in 2001, is currently ranked 6th in the world at doubles and 11th at singles - she hopes to break into the top 7 in the world following the US tournaments.

Lucy is granted free access to Tone Leisure's fitness facilities as part of the FANS scheme, which sees the country's top sportspeople - those competing or performing at a national level in any sport recognised by Sport England - gain free access to local fitness facilities in order to help them achieve their sporting ambitions. Lucy also receives support from specialist tennis coaches and time on court at Taunton Tennis Centre in addition to the free gym sessions and swimming that the basic FANS programme offers.

As well as Lucy, Tone Leisure is currently supporting a number of other local sports stars as part of FANS including those involved in swimming, triathlon, clay shooting, disability table tennis, weightlifting, martial arts and rugby, amongst others.

"FANS is an incredibly valuable scheme for young people like Lucy who are highly talented in their field but otherwise may not be able to afford to train to the level required to reach the very top," said Joel Chapman, Tone Leisure's commercial director.

"As a trust, Tone is passionate about encouraging people of all levels to enjoy sport and fitness but to work with someone of Lucy's calibre is especially rewarding. We're hugely proud of her achievements in the Australian Open and look forward to helping her prepare for that British highlight - Wimbledon!"

"Without FANS and the freedom it gives to be able to train, my career would not have progressed in the way it has," added Lucy Shuker. "Being able to work out and train with experts without having to worry about the cost is something I'm incredibly grateful for."