ORLANDO — Great Britain reclaimed the World Team Cup for a fifth time as Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid delivered in the deciding doubles to seal a 2-1 victory over defending champions Japan in Florida. The British pair beat Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai 6-1 6-2 in the decisive doubles match in Orlando to win the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
Reid set the tone on Saturday with a commanding 6-2 6-2 win over world number 21 Arai, his fifth victory in five meetings between the pair. "We're really happy to get the title back," said Reid, who was also part of Britain's World Team Cup-winning squads alongside Hewett in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2024.
The second singles was delayed for six hours because of extreme heat in Orlando before Hewett and world number one Oda returned to court when temperatures cooled. Just a week after beating Oda in the US Open singles final, Hewett fell to a narrow 6-4 7-5 loss. "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," Hewett said. "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. 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."
Hewett and Reid — the reigning French Open, Wimbledon and US Open champions — bounced back emphatically in the doubles to close out the tie. The victory backed up Britain's wins against South Korea and the Netherlands earlier in the week for a squad that also featured 21-year-old Ben Bartram and was captained by Martyn Whait.