Great Britain Reclaims World Team Cup Title with Hewett and Reid

In the end, it came down to the old firm.

Under the Florida sun in Orlando, Great Britain prised the World Team Cup trophy out of Japan’s hands, with Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid delivering a ruthless 6-1 6-2 doubles victory over Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai to clinch a 2-1 win and a fifth title for their country.

Japan arrived as defending champions in the premier team event of wheelchair tennis, the sport’s answer to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. They had the world No 1 in Oda, the momentum of recent success, and the belief that comes with it. Britain had history, chemistry – and two men who have built a dynasty together.

Reid struck the first blow on Saturday. Calm, clinical, and in complete control, he dismantled Arai 6-2 6-2 to give Britain a 1-0 lead and extend his perfect record against the world No 21 to five wins from five meetings. It was the kind of performance that sets a tone for a team weekend: authoritative, no drama, no doubt.

Then the heat took over.

The second singles rubber between Hewett and Oda was forced into a long delay as extreme temperatures in Orlando made play impossible. Six hours later, they came back out to a very different court, but the quality barely dipped. Just a week on from beating Oda in the US Open singles final, Hewett went toe-to-toe with the Japanese star again. This time, the margins turned against him.

Oda edged a tight first set 6-4, then held his nerve in the key moments of the second to close out a 7-5 win and drag Japan level. Hewett, usually the one landing the final punch, had to swallow a rare reversal.

"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. It felt like an honest verdict on a contest decided on the thinnest of edges.

So it came to something new for this British team: a deciding doubles rubber with everything on the line.

If there were nerves, they never showed. Hewett and Reid, veterans of so many shared battles, tore into the match with a clarity and aggression that Japan could not match. Returns were punched through the court, angles were found at will, and the scoreboard raced away from Oda and Arai.

The 6-1 first set was a statement. The 6-2 second was the confirmation. The trophy was coming back to Britain.

"We're really happy to get the title back," Reid said, the satisfaction obvious for a man who has now lifted this cup in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2024 alongside the same partner. Four of Britain’s five World Team Cup triumphs have had Hewett and Reid at the heart of them. This was not just another win; it was another chapter in a sustained era of dominance.

For Hewett, there was both relief and pride. "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. Then came the line that explains why this team continues to deliver: "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 “we” matters. Behind the headline names, 21-year-old Ben Bartram played his part in the squad, gaining experience inside a winning environment, while captain Martyn Whait steered the group through a demanding week that also included key victories over South Korea and the Netherlands.

Those earlier ties built the platform; the final demanded something extra. Against the reigning champions, in punishing conditions, Britain’s standard-bearers found it again.

Five World Team Cup titles now sit on the British honour roll. With Hewett and Reid still setting the bar and a new generation already in the room, the obvious question lingers over the rest of the world: who is going to stop them?