Great Britain Reclaims World Team Cup Title as Hewett and Reid Shine

In the heavy Florida heat, with everything on the line, Great Britain turned again to the pairing that has defined an era in wheelchair tennis. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid did not blink.

A 2-1 win over defending champions Japan in Orlando delivered Britain a fifth World Team Cup title, sealed by a ruthless 6-1 6-2 victory for Hewett and Reid over Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai in the deciding doubles.

This is Britain’s competition. It now reads 2015, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 on the honours board for Reid; Hewett has been there alongside him for four of those triumphs. The latest felt different. Tighter. Harder earned.

“We're really happy to get the title back,” Reid said, the relief evident after prising the trophy away from Japan, who arrived as reigning champions and with the world number one, Oda, at the heart of their team.

The tone of the tie was set early. Reid opened Saturday with a statement performance, dismantling world number 21 Arai 6-2 6-2. It was their fifth meeting. Reid has won them all. This one might have been the most important, a clean, authoritative win that put Britain 1-0 up and asked Japan the serious questions.

Then the sun took over.

The second singles rubber between Hewett and Oda was forced into a long, anxious pause as extreme heat in Orlando delayed play. Six hours passed before they returned to court, the temperature finally dropping, the tension refusing to follow.

Seven days earlier, Hewett had beaten Oda in the US Open singles final, a landmark win over the world number one. This time, the margins deserted him. Oda edged a high-class contest 6-4 7-5, levelling the tie and dragging it into a winner-takes-all doubles shootout.

Hewett did not hide his frustration. “I'm a bit disappointed that it wasn't a 100% day after my loss in the singles, but it was a really high-level match and just came down to a few points in both sets that could have gone either way,” he said.

Those points went Oda’s way. The day, in the end, did not.

When the pair returned for the doubles, Hewett’s response was emphatic. Back alongside Reid, the partnership that has delivered so many titles for Britain clicked into its familiar, punishing rhythm. They tore through Oda and Arai, 6-1 6-2, never allowing Japan a foothold, never loosening their grip once they had it.

The pressure finally told on the defending champions. Britain, captained by Martyn Whait and backed by 21-year-old Ben Bartram as part of the squad, completed a week in which they had already taken down South Korea and the Netherlands. The doubles decider became a showcase of experience and chemistry: sharp returns, aggressive court positioning, and an obvious trust in the big points.

For Hewett, the emotional weight of the occasion matched the physical demands of the week.

“It's the first time it's come down to the deciding doubles for us, so I'm just really happy that we got over the line,” he said. “It's always a privilege to play for your country and there's been a great atmosphere and team spirit again this week between all the lads.”

That team spirit now has another trophy to show for it. Japan’s reign is over; Britain’s grip on the World Team Cup story tightens again. With Hewett and Reid still driving the standard at the top of the sport, the real question is not how long this chapter lasts, but who can realistically stop them writing the next one.