Wheelchair Tennis Has Found Its Great Rivalry

When one evokes the great rivalries of tennis, names such as Nadal and Federer—or more recently, the electrifying duels between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner—naturally come to mind.

Yet, far from the limelight and the glare of mainstream attention, a rivalry of equal intensity unfolds in near silence—a duel that has perhaps escaped your notice.

For those who have never paid much attention to wheelchair tennis, the enthralling rivalry between Alfie Hewett and the prodigious Tokito Oda may well compel a reassessment.

Alfie Hewett and Oda Tokito during the final of the AO 2025, credit : BBC

One once dreamed of a career in football ; the other had already found his place between the posts of a local club. Though hailing from different continents, these two luminaries of wheelchair tennis share remarkably similar journeys.

From prolonged hospital stays to the near-total loss of lower-limb mobility, both Oda and Hewett are, above all else, resilient warriors—shaped by adversity and galvanized by determination.

Inspired respectively by Shingo Kunieda and Gordon Reid—towering figures within the sport—the pair found a new sense of purpose: wheelchair tennis.

Tokito Oda becoming the youngest gold medallist in the history of wheelchair tennis, credit : The Japan Times

The rules are simple. Played on a court the same size as standard tennis, the game is a fierce battle played in best-of-three sets, with the key distinction being that the ball can bounce twice before it must be returned.

To put it briefly, Alfie Hewett is the Novak Djokovic of wheelchair tennis—a seasoned player with 10 Grand Slam titles and a hunger for more.

Tokito Oda, on the other hand, is reminiscent of Carlos Alcaraz.A breakout sensation in recent years, the Japanese star made history by winning his first Grand Slam title at just 17, before capturing Paralympic gold the following year in a suspenseful final against—who else—Alfie Hewett.

Alfie Hewett becomes the Wimbledon 2024 champion, credit : LTA

In recent years, Oda vs. Hewett has become almost inevitable in Grand Slam finals, as the two athletes have clearly risen above the rest.

Since early 2023, the Japanese and the Brit have faced off five times in major finals—proof of their near-total domination of the sport.

Far from retirement, these two tennis phenoms could very well be the best marketing tools for a sport that’s growing rapidly.During the 2024 Wimbledon final, around 7,000 spectators gathered on Centre Court to cheer for their local hero—an unprecedented turnout for the category.

Following the era of Shingo Kunieda and his 28 Grand Slam titles, it seems wheelchair tennis has found its new heroes—offering the sport a bright and promising future.