"To have four Brits complete at the Australian Open for the first time is an exciting way to start a very important season for our Performance Programme players in 2014, with Rio 2016 just two years away," said Geraint Richards, the Tennis Foundation's head of disability player performance.

"In 2013 Gordon, Jordanne, Lucy and Andy all produced some career best performances, including Andy reaching his first Grand Slam singles final in Melbourne and Gordon reaching his first Grand Slam singles semi-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open so I'm confident they will be in good form taking on the world's best."

World number four Reid will compete in his first Australian Open and complete a full set of career Grand Slam appearances after reaching the men's singles semi-finals on his debuts at both Roland Garros and the US Open in 2013.

He will face tough opposition in the shape of Japan's world number one Shingo Kunieda.

Kunieda heads into the Australian Open after a successful year on tour, winning two Grand Slam titles.

Gordon Reid will face tough opposition in Japan's Shingo Kunieda who secured two Grand Slam titles in the 2013 season ©Getty Images



He scored a comfortable win over French top seed Stephane Houdet at the 2013 Australian Open, and then triumphed in the Wimbledon doubles final alongside Houdet in July.

World number seven, Whiley, and world number eight, Shuker, both qualify for the women's singles event and will hope to challenge the Dutch dominance which has seen the title return to the Netherlands for the past 12 years.

Whiley made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in 2011 and will return to Melbourne Park for the first time since then.

Meanwhile, Shuker reached her first Australian Open singles semi-final and her second Australian doubles final in 2013.

Paralympic bronze medallists Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley will be hoping to disrupt the Dutch dominance seen on the women's wheelchair tennis circuit ©Getty Images







Lapthorne will be hoping to do one better than he did last year in the Australian Open where he came runner-up in both the quads doubles and singles events.

He won the doubles event at the Open in both 2011 and 2012 with his London 2012 silver medal-winning doubles partner Peter Norfolk and will be hoping to add a first Grand Slam singles title when he travels to Melbourne next month.

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