Defending Gentlemen’s Wheelchair Singles and Doubles champion Alfie Hewett has collected a total of 33 Grand Slam titles since his debut at Wimbledon in 2015.

Last year’s singles crown here completed the highly coveted singles and doubles career Grand Slam.

As No.2 seed in SW19 this year, how does he feel coming back to the place of perhaps his greatest and most difficult challenge?

"The double Sunday was a real special moment, just looking up at the end of that singles match seeing all my family, my friends, my team just pure emotion, and there was a lot of tears and a lot of champagne open, so I look back with very fond memories and it's definitely a nice feeling coming back as defending champion.”

Clinching the one big title that was missing from his impressive CV has seemingly freed Hewett, and as a result, he’s made some significant changes to his life recently.

“I feel like a lot changed in myself, and I felt like that Wimbledon win was a real turning point for me, it's just about maybe enjoying my tennis a bit more and play with a bit more freedom and let you take the pressure off results.

“I was very obsessed with winning and losing and I wanted a different approach to my tennis, and I feel like I've done that since and I’ve still won and I’ve still lost.”

He is still hungry, but perhaps the goalposts have shifted.

“This year will be hopefully a lot more enjoyable, less stressful. I'm still motivated, but I'm still hungry. It doesn't mean I care less, but it's just trying to enjoy these moments because they're very special.”

Hewett is trying to enjoy the non-tennis part of his life a bit more too.

‘I’m a big football fan – I support my hometown club Norwich City. Me and my partner, we've got a dog (a Rottweiler-Labrador cross). We like to take the dog out for a nice country walk and we’ve just moved to Surrey. A little bit of peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle.”

Hewett says there’s a ‘Tennis Alfie’ and a ‘Non-Tennis Alfie’ and that he likes to keep a broad sense of perspective.

“I think I'm quite a deep person. I think there are other meanings to life for me than just tennis. I do love my football. I do love to play golf every once in a while. I like to see my family and I think it's important to make sure we still have time for those things.”

Hewett opens his singles campaign against Spaniard Daniel Caverzaschi on Tuesday. 

Hewett’s rival in the draw, No.1 seed Tokito Oda comes into Wimbledon fresh from lifting a third consecutive Roland-Garros singles trophy, making him the new ‘king of clay;’

Paris is his ‘special place’ but perhaps the lure of London will win the Japanese 19-year-old over in the long-term.

“I became No.1 in Paris, I won the first Paralympic Games in Paris and last month, I won Roland-Garros for the third time in a row,” Oda said. “That is my special place to play.”

He is still world No.1 and therefore the top seed for the Gentleman’s Wheelchair Singles tournament at the Championships, where he faces Great Britain’s Ben Bartram in the first round on Tuesday.

Shortly after his first Roland-Garros title in 2023, when at 17 years and 33 days old he became the youngest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam of any discipline, Oda also clinched the Wimbledon crown.

And he feels that the lawns of SW19 also suit his game. “Maybe grass is more similar to hard court,” he said. “My playing style is fast. I hit hard and don’t play too many rallies.”

When not crushing tennis balls, Oda likes to spend time honing his guitar skills. Sometimes, he says, he likes to play air guitar on his racket. And his perfect song to play?

It’s rather relevant. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’.

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