The UNIQLO Interview: Louise Hunt Skelley
Louise Hunt Skelley puts on a necklace every morning that her husband Chris – a judo player who won gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games – had made for her. On it are the words ‘abnormally ambitious’, which paints an incredibly accurate picture of the 33-year-old.
“Chris says, ‘there is ambitious and then there is you’, which I take as a huge compliment," Hunt Skelley, who was born with spina bifida, tells itftennis.com.
"I think athletes have a unique mindset and because Chris is so driven and ambitious himself, he understands why it cuts me to my core when I don’t achieve something.”
This level of aspiration was evident during Hunt Skelley's playing days as she reached No. 10 in the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour Rankings and competed at two Paralympic Games – London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Since retiring in 2021, she has evolved into an esteemed commentator, which allows her to continue banging the wheelchair tennis drum, while her portfolio of other work is both sizeable and impressive.
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Wiltshire-born Hunt Skelley counts being a tournament director, athlete mentor, motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur among her other pursuits – the living embodiment of the sentiment expressed by her husband on her necklace.
“I feel really proud because when I think back to the start of my journey in the wheelchair tennis world, I just picked up a racket and started playing with my family and I loved it,” said Hunt Skelley, who finished runner-up in the inaugural UNIQLO Spirit Awards in 2017.
“Not only did I live the ultimate dream and become a wheelchair tennis player, when I changed my role I managed to stay in the sport that I love and have had all these other experiences.
“If I could see myself now through the eyes of my younger self, I would be so surprised and be like, ‘oh gosh, I have done all that'. I’m excited also and wonder what the future holds.
“I just want to play my tiny part in showing the world how brilliant our sport is, because I believe in it so much. Hopefully, as a player, I helped change the narrative around wheelchair tennis and now, as a commentator, I hope I am helping push it further forwards.”
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Hunt Skelley first picked up a tennis racket at the age of five, but it was the junior camps hosted by the Johan Cruyff Foundation that she attended in the Netherlands around the age of 10 that really piqued her interest and laid the foundations for what was to come.
“That is where my addiction for the sport started,” she said. “The camps were run alongside the Dutch Open and I remember seeing all these big wheelchair tennis players of the time and thinking, ‘that’s what I want to be’.
“I made it all the way to the Paralympics and when I got to London 2012, wheeling out to 80,000 people – the noise, sounds and atmosphere – is something I will never forget. It was the first time in my life that I thought I had made something of myself.
“I also remember wheeling onto my first practice session at Wimbledon, looking at my coach and thinking, ‘we’ve done this, we’ve got here’. I will never forget those moments, nor will I forget those camps as that’s where my love for the sport began.”
One thing which Hunt Skelley concedes she wanted to be as much as a Paralympian is an author, and last year she realised that particular dream by releasing her book What’s Wrong With You?
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The book is an autobiographical account of Hunt Skelley’s thirst to succeed, underscoring the fact she has spent her life defying expectations, breaking barriers and daring the world to catch up.
"There were two main reasons I wrote the book,” explained Hunt Skelley. “Firstly, I am very conscious that when you’re an athlete and get towards the top of your sport, everyone sees the glory and the magic moments.
“But there is a misconception and a lack of knowledge around what it takes to get there. We talk about the Paralympics, but it took so much to get there – travelling around the world on my own, competing with broken wheelchairs, being lonely, losing a lot. I wanted to bring that out.
“Secondly, my overriding drive in life is to change the narrative about what being disabled means and reinforcing the fact that having a disability doesn’t define you – people with disabilities don’t need pity.
“I was very honest throughout and my friends said it was raw. I was very honest about the struggles which exist with being disabled. It’s like being an athlete, people only see me thriving and not how hard it has been to get to where I am.
“I really want to change the overall narrative. I can’t stand the stereotype of us not being capable. I want to break that down. By telling my story, I hope people feel they can also thrive. If I can do it, anyone can.”
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There is one chapter in the book which recalls Hunt Skelley’s rebellious school days, and while she concedes she retains a rebellious characteristic, it is more from the perspective of fighting against the suppression of capabilities.
She holds a similar attitude towards the sport she loves, believing wheelchair tennis has a platform to grow exponentially in the next few years.
“Wheelchair tennis has come super far,” said Hunt Skelley. “If I use Wimbledon as an isolated example, I presented to millions of viewers from Court No. 1 last year. That is an unbelievably breathtaking development from where wheelchair tennis was when I first saw it at Wimbledon.
“I am so excited about how far we’ve come but we can be bigger and better. I don’t think we should stop now and be complacent – the sky is the limit.
“We have proven the appetite is there by filling some of the biggest and best courts in the world when wheelchair tennis is being played. If we all keep pushing together, who knows what we can achieve?”.
Abnormally ambitious, yes. But Hunt Skelley's view is very much a universal view.