Wimbledon 2026: Alfie Hewett to face Tokito Oda in men's wheelchair singles final
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Alfie Hewett booked his place in his fifth successive men’s wheelchair singles final at The Championships, Wimbledon and the 23rd Grand Slam singles final of his career after the world No.2 defeated Argentina’s world No.4 Gustavo Fernandez 6-7(2), 6-0, 6-3.
Hewett will now play world No.1 Tokito Oda of Japan in Sunday’s singles final after pairing up with Gordon Reid on Saturday to take on Fernandez and Oda in the men’s doubles final at the All England Club.
The opening set on No.1 Court resembled something like a boxing match with tennis rackets instead of gloves as Hewett and Fernandez fought out some long and intense exchanges, with Fernandez having the edge in the tie-break after 67 minutes.
However, the second set took just 21 minutes as Hewett came out firing on all cylinders, putting away twice as many winners as he had in the first set to level the contest before finishing what was ultimately an accomplished performance.
It's these sorts of matches that I believe is what puts wheelchair tennis on the map a lot more.
Hewett, who will now play Oda in a Wimbledon final for the third time since 2023, said: "It was a rollercoaster of a match, I seem to always have these sorts of matches in the semi-final against Gustavo. What a competitor, and he's just recently become a dad as well, so, I don't want to wish him too many congratulations, because we're playing him in a doubles final tomorrow.
“It's these sorts of matches that I believe is what puts wheelchair tennis on the map a lot more, and thanks to you guys (the crowd) for making it so entertaining. I'm not going to lie to you - after the first set, I wanted to leave this place, but I managed to regroup, and, thankfully got there in the end."
Hewett, the 2024 champion, and Fernandez, the 2019 champion were locked together at just 3-3 after 35 minutes of the opening set, but Hewett eventually found his best form to defeat the Argentinian for the third time in four Wimbledon semi-finals after winning 12 of the last 15 games.
Hewett and Reid will aim for their seventh Wimbledon men’s doubles title and their 25th Grand Slam title together on Saturday as they take on reigning Australian and USA Open champions Fernandes and Oda before Hewett resumes his rivalry with Oda on Sunday.
He added: “He's obviously flying at the moment. He’s won all the Grand Slams this year and he’s world No.1 for a reason. I know I'm going have to use you guys to help me get through that match. For me right now, it's all about the doubles final with Gordon.”
Earlier in the day, Andy Lapthorne’s bid for a place in a second quad singles at The Championships ended in a straight sets loss to world No.2 and 2022 champion Sam Schroder of the Netherlands.
