Hewett defeats arch-rival Oda to end wait for Grand Slam singles title
Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett ended his long and frustrating wait for a Grand Slam singles title after defeating arch-nemesis Tokito Oda in the wheelchair men’s singles final at the US Open.
Since winning his most-recent title at the 2025 Australian Open, Hewett had gone six Grand Slams without prevailing in singles and on four occasions had lost to Oda in finals – most recently at Wimbledon.
The Wimbledon loss was particularly chastening for Hewett given it was so one-sided – Oda won 6-1 6-1 – while the 28-year-old has fallen short on other occasions with silverware tantalisingly within reach.
But in New York it was Hewett’s time and he stunned Oda, storming out of the blocks to take the first set 6-0 and then a closer second set 7-6(5). Victory secured Hewett’s fifth US Open singles title and his 11th Grand Slam singles title overall.
“It has felt like a long time coming, to be honest,” said Hewett, who also lost to Oda in the gold medal match at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
“It has been 18 months since I won a singles Grand Slam, which has been tough. I have had quite a few losses in big finals, so to turn that around and make it go in my favour, especially with the way it went, makes me very happy.
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“A few times I have wondered, ‘how am I going to beat this guy?’. A lot of hard work, a lot of soul-searching and a lot of reflecting. To be fair, the Wimbledon pumping was a tough one to swallow.
“I came away from that with a lot of regret. I took some time off and had a long, hard look in the mirror. I thought about who I wanted to be on the tennis court and how I wanted to show up.
“Today, I didn’t care about the outcome. It was about being a little bit more Alfie and showing the fight and the grit and the desire to go out there and play a little bit more fearlessly.
“I wanted to be possessed. I wanted to let him know that I was not going to roll over and that I was going to be strong in my presence and strong in my character. I think my performance showed that.”
But while there have been times Hewett has been kept awake at night – metaphorically or otherwise – by Oda, a huge amount of respect exists between the two best men’s wheelchair tennis players on the planet.
“It has definitely been fun at times,” said Hewett, who also won the US Open men’s wheelchair doubles alongside Gordon Reid. “It’s a rivalry – an exciting one – and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
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“There are a lot of other men’s players that are hungry, motivated and have that desire to want to make a final and win. But, at the moment, the level we are producing on a tennis court, we just keep pushing each other to be better.
“He [Oda] has made me such a better player. One day, when we are both retired, we might sit down and talk about it all. The things that we are doing in practice and the level of detail we are looking at to try and be better – it is high. It is nice then to get a reward.”
Flushing Meadows was the scene of the latest celebration to mark 50 years of wheelchair tennis, with a ceremony taking place to welcome the latest inductees into the Wheelchair Tennis Hall of Champions. It has prompted Hewett to consider the next 50 years.
“Hopefully, I will be giving a trophy to someone in the next 20 or 30 years, looking at the level of wheelchair tennis and being glad that I am retired,” said Hewett.
“People like Brad [Parks], they paved the way for us in the present to have this sort of career, be professional and be able to do it as a full-time job. It is amazing what people along the way have done.
“I feel we have a responsibility now to continue that, push it in an even better direction and try and get more people playing. It is certainly about getting more people playing and, if you do, there will ultimately be a better group of players in future. It’s exciting.”
A full list of results from the 2026 US Open Wheelchair Championships can be found here