Britain Takes Back the Trophy
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid have secured a fifth World Team Cup title for Great Britain, defeating Japan 2-1 in the final held in Orlando, Florida. The competition is the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, and Japan had entered as defending champions hoping to retain their crown. Instead, Hewett and Reid produced a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory in the deciding doubles match against Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai to send the trophy back to Britain.
Reid expressed his delight at reclaiming the title, noting that this marks his fifth World Team Cup triumph alongside Hewett, having previously won in 2015, 2019, 2023, and 2024. Hewett highlighted the added drama of this particular final, pointing out it was the first time the pair had needed the doubles rubber to decide things. Despite the pressure, their performance was commanding and convincing.
A Dramatic Day of Matches
The final was full of twists before the doubles showdown. Reid opened proceedings on Saturday with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 singles win over Arai, extending his perfect head-to-head record against the Japanese player to five wins from five. Hewett's singles match against Oda was then delayed for six hours due to extreme heat in Orlando, and once play resumed, Hewett narrowly lost 6-4, 7-5 in a match he described as highly competitive and decided by just a handful of points.
That setback made the doubles all the more crucial, and Hewett bounced back brilliantly alongside Reid. Britain's squad also included 21-year-old Ben Bartram, with the team captained by Martyn Whait throughout the week. Earlier victories over South Korea and the Netherlands had set up the final nicely. TennisDraw users following the wheelchair tennis circuit had Great Britain as strong favorites to reclaim the title this week.
