Alfie Hewett's first action as No 1 will be in Turkey this week as part of Britain men's team aiming to qualify for the World Team Cup Finals - the ITF's flagship team wheelchair tennis event; "I'm going to enjoy every week and every moment that I'm able to say I am No 1 in the world"
Wednesday 16 March 2022 16:42, UK
Britain's Alfie Hewett has become the world No 1 men’s singles wheelchair tennis player.
Hewett has overhauled Japan's Shingo Kunieda, widely considered as the best men's wheelchair tennis player in history, at the top of the rankings after claiming the prestigious Cajun Classic Super Series title in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
The 24-year-old, who trains in Norwich where he is coached by Donna Andrews and Ben Collingwood, has reached the summit of the men's singles world rankings for the second time having previously briefly occupied top spot back in 2018 when he became the sport's youngest ever world No 1.
Hewett said: "It's a great feeling. I've worked incredibly hard to achieve the consistency over the last 18 months - I really feel like my performances have stepped up. The world number one spot is something I think every player in the top 15-20 in the rankings dreams of - it's the ultimate accolade.
"The game has moved on massively since I was world No 1 in 2018. I've had to adapt in terms of my game, my mentality, my behaviour, my emotions.
"I don't think at the time I appreciated how hard it was to achieve something like that. I want to try to stay there a little bit longer this time. It's not going to be easy, I'm aware of that, but I'm just taking it one tournament at a time and I'm going to enjoy every week and every moment that I'm able to say I am No 1 in the world.
"The hard work does continue, there is no rest now - it's just getting on with the rest of the season. It's been a great year so far and so maintaining some strong performances with similar outcomes is the target for me."
It follows an outstanding start to 2022 that has seen the Brit with three titles on the ITF's UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis World Tour, including both ITF Super Series events (the equivalent of the ATP/WTA Masters 1000 as the highest-ranking tour events outside of the four Grand Slams and end of season finals), and finish runner-up at the Australian Open.
Hewett's position at the top of the world rankings reinforces Britain's standings as one of the leading nations in the world for wheelchair tennis, with Gordon Reid, Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne also all ranked inside the top five in the world in both singles and doubles across the men's, women's and quad divisions.
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