Great Britain's Hewett and Reid seal career Golden Slam at Paris 2024
In the Paralympic Games which keeps on giving, Paris 2024 delivered another priceless moment as Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid became the first men’s doubles team in wheelchair tennis history to complete the career Golden Slam.
Hewett and Reid were clinical in every aspect of their game on Court Philippe Chatrier as they brushed aside Japanese duo Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki 6-2 6-1.
The career Golden Slam has been spoken about ever since Hewett and Reid secured the career Grand Slam – the winning of all four Grand Slam men’s doubles titles – by conquering all before them at Roland Garros in 2020.
When the moment arrived, it was every bit as special as both players imagined it would be, while Hewett and Reid are also the first British team to win a Paralympic doubles medal in any wheelchair tennis category.
Having agonisingly lost in the men’s doubles finals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo 2020, a sense that destiny was conspiring against them could have taken hold.
But Hewett and Reid are made of sterner stuff and the intrepid duo were not prepared to let this latest opportunity slip through their grasp nor be weighed down by the hand of history. Plus, they are on a roll having won all three Grand Slam men's doubles titles this year.
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“I feel pure elation, maybe relief as well, because I think everyone was expecting us to go into this one, especially with the record that we've had this year, and just win the gold,” said Hewett.
“But we knew it wasn't as easy as that. We were facing really tough opponents, but I think it shows how strong we are as a team that we managed to overcome all the challenges that we faced.
“This has been a dream of ours for so many years and we've faced two heartbreaking moments in the previous two Games. To get over the line in the fashion we did today is absolute testament to all the hard work we've put in.
“You could say it's been a long time coming and winning this event gets the monkey of the silvers off our backs. I think we'd even have taken a bronze, just not another silver. I'm speechless – I'm lost for words.”
Reid has prior experience of winning Paralympic gold having topped the podium in men’s singles in Rio de Janeiro after defeating Hewett in the gold medal match. This triumph is every bit as special.
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“It is difficult to put into words right now,” said Reid, who contracted a rare spinal condition, transverse myelitis, in 2004 which paralysed him from the waist down for more than a decade.
“I don’t think it has properly sunk in yet, but it’s what we’ve been dreaming of for the best part of 12 years now. I feel like we went out there and grabbed the opportunity and it feels amazing to be wearing the gold alongside this man.
“As I say, it’s something that we’ve been missing for a while now. We‘ve done everything else in doubles, but this was the big one that we wanted.
"It doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t come for free – we’ve had to work for it and we’ve earned it. We’ve had to go through two heartbreaks to get to this stage, but it’s all been worth it. It’s a great feeling.”
No sooner had Hewett departed Court Philippe Chatrier than he was being asked about his next showdown with Oda, which happens tomorrow. That battle will determine whether or not he completes the career Golden Slam in men’s singles. After his doubles win, that would be quite something.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow's challenge but, right now, I just want to enjoy this moment,” added Hewett, who had open heart surgery when he was six months old after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, while when he was six he was found to have Perthes disease.
"We put a lot of effort and time in, and we’ve got to enjoy these moments. It's what sport is all about. You put something at the top, you want to go and get it and we’ve gone and got it. We've got to enjoy this so, tonight, I’m going to have a nice meal, that's for sure. Gordon might have some extras.”