De Groot, Hewett, Lapthorne back to defend US Open wheelchair titles | ITF
Article 10 Aug 2020

De Groot, Hewett, Lapthorne back to defend US Open titles

10 Aug 2020

Dutch world No.1 Diede De Groot and British duo Alfie Hewett and Andy Lapthorne will return to New York to defend their US Open singles titles as the entry fields for the 2020 US Open Wheelchair Competition draws were announced.

Hewett, the current world No.3, is vying for a third consecutive men’s wheelchair singles title at Flushing Meadows, and will also hope to defend the doubles crown won alongside compatriot Gordon Reid in 2019. Six-time former US Open champion and world No.1 Shingo Kunieda and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez, the world No.2, will top the seedings in the eight-player draw, with USA wild card Casey Ratzlaff set to make his US Open debut.

Like Hewett, De Groot is bidding to win the US Open women’s wheelchair singles title for a third straight year, as well as defending the doubles title she won with Aniek Van Koot. The world No.1 is one of three former champions in the singles draw, Great Britain’s Jordanne Whiley, and world No.2 Yui Kamiji, twice denied a third title in New York by De Groot in the 2018 and 2019 finals. World No.11 Dana Mathewson will fly the American flag after Aniek Van Koot's withdrawal earned her a place in the main draw.

Andy Lapthorne’s quad singles triumph denied two-time former champion Dylan Alcott a calendar Grand Slam in 2019 before the world No.1 avenged the defeat on home turf at the 2020 Australian Open. The duo return as doubles champions, while standing in their way in both draws will be three-time US Open winner David Wagner and 20-year-old wild card debutant Sam Schroder of the Netherlands.

The US Open wheelchair tennis event will take place from 10-13 September at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The full entry lists can be found below (ITF UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour World Rankings as of 16 March 2020).

 

Men's Wheelchair

1. Shingo Kunieda (JPN)
2. Gustavo Fernandez (ARG)
3. Alfie Hewett (GBR)
4. Joachim Gerard (BEL)
5. Gordon Reid (GBR)
6. Stephane Houdet (FRA)
7. Nicolas Peifer (FRA)
20. Casey Ratzlaff (USA, WC)

 

Women's Wheelchair

1. Diede de Groot (NED)
2. Yui Kamiji (JPN)
4. Marjolein Buis (NED)
5. Jordanne Whiley (GBR)
9. Momoko Ohtani (JPN)
10. Angelica Bernal (COL)
11. Dana Mathewson (USA, WC)
Lucy Shuker (GBR, WC)

 

Quad Wheelchair

1. Dylan Alcott (AUS)
2. Andy Lapthorne (GBR)
3. David Wagner (USA)
4. Sam Schroder (NED, WC)

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