Great Britain Wins World Team Cup in Florida
Great Britain wrestled back the World Team Cup in Florida, with Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid delivering under pressure to dethrone defending champions Japan and seal a 2-1 triumph.
On a humid Orlando evening, the sport’s equivalent of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup came down to the very last rubber. One match. One doubles. One of the great partnerships in wheelchair tennis with everything on their shoulders.
They didn’t flinch.
Hewett and Reid tore through Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai 6-1 6-2 in the deciding doubles, a ruthless, controlled performance that restored Britain to the top of the team game for a fifth time.
“We're really happy to get the title back,” said Reid, who now has World Team Cup wins with Hewett in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2024 on his CV. Another year, another trophy together.
For Hewett, there was something new in this one.
“It's the first time it's come down to the deciding doubles for us, so I'm just really happy that we got over the line,” he said. “It's always a privilege to play for your country and there's been a great atmosphere and team spirit again this week between all the lads.”
Reid strikes first
Britain had edged ahead on Saturday thanks to Reid’s authority in the opening singles. Facing world number 21 Arai, a player he knows well and has never lost to, Reid imposed himself from the start and never let go.
He rolled to a 6-2 6-2 win, extending his perfect record against Arai to five wins from five meetings. Clean, efficient, clinical. The ideal platform.
Heat, delay and a twist
Then Florida reminded everyone who really runs the schedule.
Extreme heat forced a long delay before the second singles. Hewett and Oda were kept off court for six hours as temperatures soared, the tie left hanging in the air while players tried to stay loose and locked in.
When they finally returned, the world number one came out with a point to prove. Just a week after Hewett had beaten Oda in the US Open singles final, the Japanese star flipped the script. In a tight, high-quality contest, Oda edged Hewett 6-4 7-5.
Hewett felt the sting of it.
“I'm a bit disappointed that it wasn't a 100% day after my loss in the singles, but it was a really high-level match and just came down to a few points in both sets that could have gone either way,” he said.
The tie was level. Momentum threatened to swing Japan’s way. For Britain, everything now rested on the doubles.
Champions respond
That’s when the old firm did what they do best.
Reid, the seasoned campaigner who had set the tone in singles, and Hewett, fresh from the frustration of defeat, channelled the occasion rather than shrinking from it. From the opening games of the doubles, they hunted together, locked in on returns, sharp on the big points.
The scoreline – 6-1 6-2 – told the story of a pair who understand not only each other’s games but the weight of the shirt on days like this. Japan, who arrived as reigning champions, never found a foothold.
Behind them, 21-year-old Ben Bartram and captain Martyn Whait had played their part across the week as Britain navigated past South Korea and the Netherlands to reach the final. The foundations were laid early; the finish was emphatic.
By the time the last ball flew past the Japanese pair, the trophy was heading back to Britain again. Five World Team Cup titles now for this era of British wheelchair tennis – and with Hewett, Reid and the next generation already in the mix, there’s no sense this story is close to finished.
