Under the fading Florida sun, with the heat finally loosening its grip on Orlando, Great Britain took back what they believe is theirs. A fifth World Team Cup title, prised from the hands of defending champions Japan, sealed by the most reliable double act in wheelchair tennis.
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, the partnership that has defined an era, stepped into the deciding doubles and simply refused to blink. Their 6-1 6-2 demolition of Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai did not just settle a tie. It restored Britain to the top of the team game they cherish.
Reid strikes first
The tone was set on Saturday by Reid, who walked on court with history and familiarity on his side. Facing Arai, the world number 21 he had beaten in all four of their previous meetings, he wasted no time making it five.
Sharp on serve, ruthless off the return, Reid controlled the baseline exchanges and never allowed Arai a foothold. The 6-2 6-2 scoreline told its own story: clean, clinical, and exactly what Britain needed to draw first blood.
Reid, part of Britain’s title-winning squads in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2024, knows this stage as well as anyone. This was not about nostalgia, though. It was about setting a platform. He delivered it.
Heat, delay and a champion checked
Then the day stalled.
Orlando’s extreme heat forced the start of the second singles rubber back into the evening. Hewett and Oda were made to wait six hours before they could resume battle, a test of patience as much as endurance.
Hewett arrived as the man of the moment. Just a week earlier he had beaten Oda, the world number one, in the US Open singles final. This time, the margins cut the other way.
In a tight, high-quality contest, Oda edged Hewett 6-4 7-5. No collapse, no drama, just a handful of points that slipped away at the wrong time. Hewett admitted the frustration, acknowledging he had fallen short of the “100% day” he wanted, but there was no time to dwell. The tie was level. The cup would come down to the doubles.
The decider – and a ruthless response
This is where Hewett and Reid live.
From the opening games of the deciding rubber, Britain’s leading pair imposed themselves. Their returning suffocated Oda and Arai. Their communication, honed over years at the top, cut through the tension.
The first set raced away 6-1. Japan, who had arrived as reigning champions and genuine favourites to defend, suddenly looked second best in every exchange. The pressure told again early in the second set. Britain broke, then broke again, and the contest began to resemble so many of Hewett and Reid’s greatest days together.
A 6-1 6-2 win in a World Team Cup final decider is not routine. They made it feel that way.
A fifth title, and a team effort
When the final point landed, it confirmed Great Britain as World Team Cup champions for the fifth time. For Reid, it was another line in an already remarkable team résumé. For Hewett, it was a rapid redemption after the singles loss and a reminder of his resilience.
“It’s the first time it’s come down to the deciding doubles for us,” Hewett said, satisfied that they had “got over the line” when it mattered most. Reid spoke of the joy of “getting the title back”, a phrase that underlined how personally this team take the competition that mirrors the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup in the wheelchair game.
This was not just about two men, though. Ben Bartram, the 21-year-old talent in the squad, and captain Martyn Whait played their part across a week that also brought important wins over South Korea and the Netherlands. The atmosphere, Hewett noted, was once again a driving force.
Britain have now turned this event into a habit. Japan arrived in Florida as champions. They left beaten by a team that, when the stakes peak and the doubles court becomes the stage, still know exactly how to finish the job.
