Paris Paralympics 2024: Alfie Hewett takes home silver in men’s wheelchair singles final
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Alfie Hewett has secured the silver medal in the men’s wheelchair singles Paralympic final, after losing out to second seed Tokito Oda at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
In a tense battle between the world No.1 and No.2, both players were presented with match points but it was the Japanese star who would eventually grasp the gold with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory.
Despite a disappointing end in the singles final, it's been a fortnight to remember for Hewett, who leaves the French capital with a fourth Paralympic silver medal and a first gold medal after he secured gold in the men's wheelchair doubles alongside Gordon Reid.
Meanwhile, Oda made history of his own by becoming the second man from Japan to win the Paralympic men’s singles gold medal, after Shingo Kunieda.
"Mixed emotions right now," Hewett reflected. "After the start and the problem I had with my groin it wasn't looking too good.
"When you prepare for a game the last thing you want to happen is that but to make it competitive in the second set, grow into the match and fight and find a way to get to a match point scenario and be a few inches away from a gold is something I can be proud of.
"It was a once in a lifetime experience but obviously, deep down to be one point away and miss that opportunity will stick with me, of course, you don't just move on from something like that overnight.
While Hewett may not be returning to Great Britain with the gold, he's still focusing on the positives from today's final, including competing in front of a 15,000 strong crowd - a new Paralympic record for wheelchair tennis.
"It's all about perspective and looking at the good things that today brought - sometimes it's bigger than the individual and hopefully that today can kick things on with our sport even more and bring more attention. That's what I'm extremely proud of.
"I said to Tokito at the end, congrats obviously and that he deserved to win but I said just take this in and enjoy it because what we've done out there was nothing short of absolutely remarkable and may go down in wheelchair Paralympic history."
Heading into their 16th meeting, the odds were leaning marginally towards Japanese teenage sensation Oda, who had claimed victory in the pair’s only two meetings on clay.
The alarm bells were ringing early on for the Brit, who picked up an groin injury in the opening game of the match - receiving an off-court medical time out at the first change of ends.
Uncertainty washed over the packed-out Court Philippe-Chatrier, with question marks raised over whether the Brit could continue in the final battle for gold, as he looked to push on through the pain. With Hewett visibly in discomfort, Oda seized his opportunity - winning four consecutive games to give himself a comfortable lead.
Despite the three-time Roland Garros champion recovering one of the breaks, Hewett continued to struggle on serve, landing just 55% of first serves in the opener as Oda clinched yet another break with a world-class backhand return down the line to take a one set lead.
Into the second and it was clear Hewett was still struggling physically. With the pressure mounting on every rally, the 26-year-old was forced to stave off five break points on his first service game before breathing a sigh of relief as he escaped unscathed.
From then on, Hewett grew into the match with every shot – finding himself with two break points of his own at 4-4 in the second. A ferocious forehand into the corner of the court saw Oda launch a return wide to seal the first break of the set before Hewett went on to seal a hold to love and take us to a nail-biting deciding set.
Carrying the momentum in his favour, Hewett came out firing in the third as he stormed ahead to a 3-1 lead.
With one match point having come and gone for the Brit at 5-3, 40-30 on the Oda serve, he was then faced with the pressures of serving it out for one of the biggest titles in his career. However, a late twist in the tale saw the 18-year-old Japanese sensation steal the gold from Hewett’s hands as he reeled off the last three games in a row to become the youngest men's wheelchair singles Paralympic champion in wheelchair tennis history.
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