Alfie Hewett finally felt like himself again — and that was bad news for Tokito Oda. In New York, the 28-year-old Briton beat the Japanese top seed 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) to win his fifth US Open men's wheelchair singles title, and put a stop to Oda's shot at a clean sweep of the season's four Grand Slams.
The win counted for far more than a trophy. Earlier this year, Oda had beaten Hewett in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, and he had also triumphed at January's Australian Open. At Wimbledon, the defeat was especially crushing: Hewett managed only two games in a 6-1, 6-1 loss that left him searching for answers.
"I'm known for being just as fearless, brave and courageous in big moments, and I felt I was everything but that in Wimbledon," Hewett told BBC Sport. "I was quiet, I was timid, I was a shell of myself." That loss, he said, made him "look in the mirror." A six-week stretch of reflection followed, and he came to New York with a simple goal: "to be a little bit more like me."
The result was a performance Hewett himself called "possessed." After saving a break point in the opening game, he stormed through the first set, clinching it with a superb backhand return winner. The second set was far grittier. Hewett fought back from a double break down and saved three set points for Oda before sealing the match in a tie-break.
The victory delivered Hewett his 11th Grand Slam singles crown and added to the doubles title he won alongside fellow Briton Gordon Reid the day before. For Oda, who had claimed the past six Grand Slam singles titles and was chasing the calendar-year sweep, the loss stung. "Definitely I was trying to get the calendar year Grand Slam this year," Oda said on court. "This was the last part of it, so it's really tough for me, but I think Alfie deserved it today."
For Hewett, the win was less about revenge than redemption — proof that he could be brave when it mattered most. After months of feeling "a shell" of his usual bold self, he stepped onto the biggest court and played with the fearlessness he has long been known for. It is a reminder that great comebacks rarely begin on the court; they begin in the quiet moments of honesty about who you want to be.