Skip to content

Australian Open: Alfie Hewett into men's wheelchair singles and doubles finals; Ranah Stoiber into girls' semi-finals

Alfie Hewett, the top seed following the retirement of his long-time rival Shingo Kunieda, faces 16-year-old Tokito Oda in the men's wheelchair singles final I He also makes the doubles final alongside Gordon Reid | Ranah Stoiber, 17, makes the girls' semi-finals

Alfie Hewett returns during a wheelchair men's singles championship match at the 2022 US Open, Sunday, Sep. 11, 2022 in Flushing, NY. (Manuela Davies/USTA via AP)
Image: Alfie Hewett is through to the men's wheelchair singles and doubles finals at the Australian Open

Britain's Alfie Hewett has made it through to the men's wheelchair singles and doubles finals at the Australian Open, while Ranah Stoiber is through to the girls' semi-finals.

Hewett will try to make it third time lucky in the men's wheelchair singles in Melbourne after easing into the final with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Japan's Takuya Miki.

Hewett, the top seed following the retirement of his long-time rival Shingo Kunieda, faces another Japanese player, third seed Tokito Oda, in the final as he aims to win a seventh Grand Slam singles title.

Hewett will also try to win a fourth successive doubles title here with Gordon Reid. The pair reached the final with a 6-4 6-4 win against Daisuke Arai and Takashi Sanada.

Ranah Stoiber in action against Madison Sieg in the girl's first round match on court 4 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. Picture date: Monday July 5, 2021.
Image: Ranah Stoiber is through to the girls' semi-finals in Melbourne

Stoiber became the first British girl to reach the semi-finals of the juniors at the Australian Open for eight years.

The 17-year-old defeated Pole Weronika Ewald 6-3 6-3 in the quarter-finals to go one better than her run at the US Open last summer.

Katie Swan, who lost in the final in 2015, was the last British girl to make the last four at Melbourne Park while Aidan McHugh reached the boys' semi-finals in 2018.

Also See:

Emma Raducanu of Britain, reacts against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, during a match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Image: Stoiber has been inspired by Emma Raducanu's journey to Grand Slam champion

Stoiber is bidding to become the first British girl to win a junior Grand Slam singles title since Heather Watson at the US Open in 2009 and the first overall since Oliver Golding won the boys' title in New York in 2011.

She will take on 15-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who is already in the top 300 in the women's rankings, in the semi-finals.

Speaking about her inspiration, Stoiber has previously said: "Emma Raducanu has given such great hope to British tennis players. She's very young so seeing what she's done inspires me to work hard every day to try and get to her level."