NEW YORK, September 6, 2025 (LTA Press Release)
Eighteen-year-old Ruben Harris, from Canterbury, Kent, claimed his second junior wheelchair title at a Grand Slam tournament on Friday night in New York after he and regular doubles partner Maximilian Taucher of Austria won the boys’ wheelchair doubles final at the US Open.
While fellow Brits Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid finished runners-up in the men’s doubles, Harris and Taucher defeated Brazil’s Luiz Calixto and Tomas Majetic of the USA 6-6, 6-3 to add to the junior boys’ wheelchair doubles title they won at the French Open in 2024.
“I’m still trying to soak it all in, but yeah, two-time champions at a Grand Slam. That’s not too bad, especially as it’s my last tournament in juniors, as well. It’s a good way to finish,” said Harris, who is supported by the LTA’s Wheelchair Performance Pathway and trains at Canterbury Tennis Club and the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
“Both sets were quite close, but I think we just played pretty smart in the whole match and took our opportunities. I’m definitely happy with how I’ve controlled myself, mentally, through all the matches and controlled the nerves through the final. It’s been a big, big step for me.”
Breaking their opponents’ serve to love in the very first game of the final, Harris and Taucher reeled off the first three games without reply and claimed four of the last five games in the second set to wrap up victory in 67 minutes and seal their sixth junior doubles title together in 2025.
“Obviously, it’s one of the biggest tournaments that junior wheelchair tennis can participate in, and it’s always great to be here. To win is something else,” added Harris, who lost out to the eventual champions in both his opening singles and doubles matches on his US Open debut in 2024.
“Thank you to all my team. I’ve got Imran (Aswat, National Age Group Programme Coach) from the LTA here, my personal coach Rob has unfortunately had to go home, Francesco, my hitting partner, he’s here, along with my dad and I know the rest of my family are watching back home, even though it’s late.”
Five-time US Open men’s doubles champions and 23-time Grand Slam champions Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid lost out to Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Japan’s Tokito Oda 6-1, 2-6 (10-6) in this year’s final.
Hewett, a four-time US Open men’s singles champion, also lost out to Fernandez 6-7(4), 6-1, 7-5 in their semi-final earlier in the day, with two-time US Open quad singles champion Andy Lapthorne losing out in the semis this year to world No. 2 Sam Schroder of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-0.
