Wheelchair tennis player dreams of Paralympics

Ruben Harris (right) with doubles partner Maximilian Taucher after winning the US Open Junior Wheelchair Doubles title

A wheelchair tennis player who won the US Open in his last game as a junior says he is now dreaming of the 2028 Paralympics.

Ruben Harris, 18, from Canterbury, won the wheelchair doubles with Maximilian Taucher earlier this month, their second grand slam after the French Open last year.

He said: "I'd like to play in the Paralympics 2028, the dream is to win [grand] slams, and gold medals…we'll see where this journey takes us."

Harris now hopes to emulate the success of Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, the British pair who have won 23 grand slams, and were runners up at this US Open.

Ruben Harris and his coach Robert Fullagar at Canterbury Tennis Club

But he will need to win consistently to make a career in the sport because of lower prize pots for wheelchair tennis.

In the US Open, for example, the overall prize pot for men's singles players, competing from qualifying to the final, is more than $31m (£22.9m).

For wheelchair tennis, it is $1.6m (£740k) which includes singles and doubles.

Harris added: "You have to be winning to make a living...there's just not as much publicity and the draw [number of players] isn't as big as in the able-bodied."

Born with club feet, at the age of nine, surgery to improve his condition went wrong, leaving him with skin and tissue damage.

Alfie Hewett (left) and Gordon Reid were runners up at the US Open and have been trailblazers for British wheelchair players, winning 23 grand slams

He chose to have them amputated, which has improved his mobility.

He now walks with prosthetic legs and plays tennis at the highest level in a wheelchair.

"I always said I didn't like my legs so when they gave us the option of amputation it seemed like a no-brainer, and I'm now able to walk, to go around with my friends, and move freely," he added.

At Canterbury Tennis Club, his coach Robert Fullagar said that tennis is "a small world" and he was already an inspiration to many young players.

He said: "He's showing people of all ages that you can do anything, no matter what your disability, or even if you're able-bodied you should give sport a go.

"It's great to have a mini-local hero, and hopefully Ruben can inspire a few more people to play our brilliant sport."