Alfie Hewett has started 2014 with two late Christmas presents after the Cantley 16-year-old was awarded a wildcard for one of the world’s leading wheelchair tennis tournaments as well as moving to a career best men’s singles ranking inside the top world’s top twenty in the first published rankings of the new season.
Hewett has been named in an elite field of 12 men’s players for February’s ITF 1 Series ABN AMRO World Wheelchair Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, one of a growing number of wheelchair tennis tournaments that take place directly alongside ATP Tour events.
“I had an amazing season in 2013, retaining my Junior Masters titles before earning a string of ITF 3 titles and reaching my first ITF 2 final, so I was delighted and pleasantly surprised to be told that I had got the wildcard for Rotterdam,” said Hewett, who ended 2013 by being named Aegon Junior Player of the Year at the British Tennis Awards. He was also among the recipients of the Team of the Year trophy at the British Wheelchair Tennis Awards, shortly before his 16th birthday last month, following Great Britain’s victory in the junior event at last May’s BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Turkey.
“It will be great to play my first senior tournament of the year on that kind of stage, alongside some of the world’s most notable players and although I know it’s going to be tough, as always I will give it my best.”
Hewett is one of three Brits on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme set to contest the prestigious event in the Netherlands in mid-February and, as well as compatriots Gordon Reid and Marc McCarroll, the Norfolk player will line up alongside a total of eight of the world’s top ten men’s singles players.
A year on from becoming world No. 1 ranked junior for the first time in the first week of January 2013, Hewett has achieved another career best after seeing his senior men’s ranking move up one place to No. 20. With Austrian Martin Legner not defending points he won in Australia at the start of last season, Hewett and fellow Brit David Phillipson have moved above Legner this week, with British No. 4 Hewett remaining less than 100 points and one ranking place behind Phillipson.
In a repeat of his schedule for the last two seasons, Hewett will begin his season by attempting to reinforce his status as the world’s leading junior player when he contests the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters in Tarbes, France from 23-26 January.
The Acle High School pupil will bid to win both the boys’ singles and boys’ doubles titles in Tarbes for the third successive season and this year will attempt to win the doubles with his third different doubles partner when he teams up with Austrian Nico Langmann.