Hewett and Reid Reach US Open Wheelchair Doubles Final

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid refused to let history repeat itself in New York.

Beaten in last year’s US Open men’s wheelchair doubles final by Gustavo Fernandez and Tokito Oda, the British pair stared at the same opponents across the net again on Thursday – and this time turned the script on its head. From a set down, they surged back to win 4-6 6-3 10-7 and book their place in yet another final.

The pressure told in the match tie-break. Hewett and Reid, so often the dominant force on these courts, tightened their patterns, attacked the middle, and forced the errors. What had looked like a dangerous repeat of 2023 turned into a statement of resilience and experience.

This run now gives the duo a shot at a sixth US Open doubles crown together. They strung five titles in a row between 2017 and 2021, a stretch that defined an era in men’s wheelchair doubles. The partnership has been built on trust, court craft and a knack for finding their best level when the margins narrow. That instinct surfaced again when they needed it most.

Standing between them and another title are Spain’s Martin de la Puente and Ruben Spaargaren of the Netherlands in the final. It is a fresh challenge, a different look across the net, but the stakes are familiar: another major, another chance to extend a legacy.

For Reid, the doubles revival came on the back of a bruising singles defeat earlier in the day. The Scot ran into top seed and defending champion Tokito Oda in the quarter-finals and was swept aside 6-1 6-0. Oda underlined why he sits at the top of the game, dictating from the baseline and never loosening his grip.

Hewett’s singles campaign, though, remains very much alive. Seeded second, the 28-year-old brushed past American Casey Ratzlaff 6-2 6-0 to reach the last four. It was the kind of authoritative performance that has become routine for him in New York, where he has already collected four singles titles, the most recent in 2023. His movement, his angles, his control under pressure – all of it looked in sync again.

While Hewett and Reid marched on in the men’s doubles, there was disappointment elsewhere for Britain in the quad events. Andy Lapthorne, partnering South Africa’s Leon Els, fell just short in a tight quad doubles clash against second seeds Sam Schroder of the Netherlands and Jin Woodman of Australia. After splitting the first two sets, Lapthorne and Els were edged out 4-6 6-3 10-8 in another tense match tie-break.

So the British story in New York narrows, once more, to a familiar pairing and a familiar stage. Hewett and Reid have been here many times before. The question now is whether they can turn a hard-fought act of revenge into another chapter of dominance in a city that has so often belonged to them.