Hewett and Reid Win Sixth US Open Doubles Title

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid have spent more than a decade rewriting the record books. On Saturday in New York, they added another line in bold.

From a set and a break down, the British pair clawed their way back to win the men’s wheelchair doubles title at the US Open for the sixth time as a partnership, beating Spain’s Martin de la Puente and Ruben Spaargaren of the Netherlands 2-6 6-3 10-7 in a tense match tie-break.

Five years had passed since they last lifted the trophy at Flushing Meadows. It showed in the way they celebrated. This one mattered.

Champions who refuse to fade

Reid, 34, now owns a remarkable 30 Grand Slam doubles titles. Eleven years on from his first, he continues to collect majors at a rate few in the sport can match, with 26 of those crowns coming alongside Hewett. The numbers are extraordinary, but they only tell part of the story.

For a set, they looked strangely ordinary.

De la Puente and Spaargaren came out swinging, attacking early in rallies and rushing the British duo out of their patterns. The underdogs took the opening set 6-2 and then broke early in the second. The scoreboard, and the momentum, tilted heavily away from Hewett and Reid.

Then the match flipped.

The returns started to bite. The communication sharpened. Hewett, 28, drove the pair forward with fierce groundstrokes, while Reid’s hands at the net began to dictate the exchanges. They broke back, held, and suddenly the pressure flowed in the opposite direction.

The second set went to the British pair 6-3. The crowd sensed the shift. So did their opponents.

Decider under the lights

Into a match tie-break, where reputations often count for nothing and nerve counts for everything.

Hewett and Reid have been here countless times. That experience told. They built a lead, saw it threatened, then steadied again. Every point felt loaded, but the patterns were familiar: Hewett’s depth from the baseline, Reid’s sharp interceptions, the constant, low murmur of encouragement between them.

They closed it out 10-7, sealing a comeback that felt as much about their history together as the tennis in front of them.

Afterwards, Hewett did not hide what the title meant.

“We've not won here for five years so this is something we've been desperate for and highly motivated for,” he said on court. “It won't be the last, we've got plenty more doubles to play in the future. These are the sort of matches we want to play in front of such an amazing crowd. I'm glad we could put on a bit of a show for you tonight.”

Reid, ever the steady voice beside him, leaned into the longevity of their partnership.

“It's been more than 13 years we've been playing together and he's not sick of me yet,” he joked. “Hopefully we've got a few more years left in us.”

A sixth US Open title together. Thirty majors in doubles for Reid. A rivalry with the rest of the field that shows no sign of softening.

If this is what they produce after five years without a trophy in New York, the question now is not how long they can keep going, but who is going to stop them.