Cruz Hewitt

Last updated

Cruz Hewitt
Full nameCruz Lleyton Hewitt [1]
Born (2008-12-11) 11 December 2008 (age 16)
Sydney, Australia
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$2,805
Singles
Career record0–0
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 1245 (25 November 2024)
Current rankingNo. 1264 (25 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open Q1 (2025)
Australian Open  Junior2R (2025)
Doubles
Highest rankingNo. 1302 (9 December 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open  Junior1R (2025)
Last updated on: 21 December 2024.

Cruz Hewitt (born 11 December 2008) is an Australian professional tennis player. [2]

Contents

Early life

Hewitt was born in Sydney, Australia on 11 December 2008 at the Royal North Shore Hospital. [3] His father, Lleyton, is a former professional tennis player who reached the world number one ranking and won multiple Grand Slams throughout his career [4] and his mother, Bec, was an actress and singer best known for her role on the soap opera Home and Away . [5] Hewitt's aunt, Jaslyn, is also a former professional tennis player who competed on the women's circuit [6] and his grandfather, Glynn, was a professional Australian rules footballer who played at the highest level for AFL club Richmond in the 1970s. [7]

Hewitt spent the first seven years of his life predominately living in the Bahamas where he developed a passion for soccer, [8] before relocating to Melbourne in 2016 after his father retired from professional tennis and began working at Tennis Australia's headquarters. [9] In 2021, the Hewitt family moved to the Gold Coast in an attempt to further Cruz's tennis prospects by training at the KDV Tennis Academy with high level coaches and opposition at state-of-the-art facilities. [10]

Junior career

Hewitt entered his first ITF junior tournament a month after his 13th birthday in January 2022, receiving a wildcard entry into the J1 Traralgon qualifying draw. He was defeated in straight sets by eventual quarterfinalist Daniel Verbeek 2–6, 0–6. Hewitt claimed his first junior ITF victory at a J5 Darwin tournament in May 2022 when he was victorious in a main draw first-round match against Jett Grech 6–2, 6–2 before being defeated in the second round. In November 2022, still aged 13, Hewitt claimed his first junior ITF title in a Fijian J5 Lautoka tournament with victory in the final against fellow Australian Cristian Care. In doing so, he became the youngest male to win an ITF junior tournament that year. [11]

Hewitt began 2023 by entering the qualifying draw for the Australian Open, where he was defeated in three sets by number-one seed Adhithya Ganesan in the first round. He won his second junior ITF title in the Virgin Islands at a J30 Christiansted tournament in May 2023 with a 6–3, 6–3 victory in the final against American Ryan Cozad. Hewitt claimed his third ITF junior title a month later with a win in a J60 Darwin tournament. Hewitt ended the 2023 season with a fourth junior ITF title in Thailand at a J60 Nonthaburi tournament with a 7–5, 6–1 final win against Russian Makar Krivoshchekov.

In January 2024, Hewitt made his junior Grand Slam debut at 15 years of age when he received a wildcard entry into the Australian Open boys' singles main draw event. He was defeated in the first round by sixth-seeded American Alexander Razeghi 2–6, 3–6 in front of a large show court crowd. [12] In October 2024, still aged 15, Hewitt entered the top 100 in the under-18 junior rankings after claiming a seventh title at a New Zealand J100 tournament in Christchurch. [13] He ended 2024 ranked 15th in the world for his age group (2008).

Professional career

Hewitt entered his first professional tournament at 14 years of age in September 2023 when he gained direct entry into the qualifying draw of an ITF M25 tournament in Darwin. He claimed third-set tiebreaker victories in his first two qualifying matches but was defeated in straight sets in the final round of qualifying. [14] Hewitt continued to enter and unsuccessfully qualify for professional ITF tournaments over the next 12 months before receiving a wildcard entry into the main draw of an Indonesian ITF M15 event in Bali in August 2024. Here, he claimed his first professional main draw win—against Thijmen Loof 6–4, 6–4—at the age of 15. [15]

Hewitt began his 2025 season at the Canberra International after receiving a wildcard entry into the qualifying draw. [16] He lost in straight sets to Brandon Holt in the first qualifying round. He made his senior Grand Slam debut at the 2025 Australian Open after being granted a wildcard into the qualifying draw. [17] He lost in the first qualifying round in straight sets to Nikoloz Basilashvili.

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References

  1. ↑ "Bec and Lleyton Welcome Baby Boy". New Idea. 2009. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008.
  2. ↑ "Cruz Hewitt | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  3. ↑ "Hewitts welcome a son". 16 December 2008.
  4. ↑ "Nitto ATP Finals 50th Anniversary: Hewitt Soars In Sydney And Shanghai | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Bec and Lleyton Hewitt's daughter Mia, on-set for Home and Away as a member of production: Full circle moment!". 19 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Who Are Lleyton Hewitt's Children? Meet Mia, Cruz And Ava Hewitt". 29 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Lleyton's Punt Road pilgrimage". 7 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Is Cruz Hewitt, the young son of Lleyton and Bec, destined to be our next Oz tennis champ?". 3 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Inside the (very) private Bec and Lleyton Hewitt as they plan his life away from the court and her return to the screen". 2 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Details emerge after Lleyton Hewitt and family move to Gold Coast". 15 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Records smashed: 2022 ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in numbers". 22 December 2022.
  12. ↑ Valencich, Glenn (21 January 2024). "Cruz Hewitt makes Australian Open junior debut in front of huge crowd on Court 3". Seven News . Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Lleyton Hewitt's son Cruz to break into ITF Juniors top 100 rankings after J100 Christchurch triumph". 15 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Lleyton Hewitt's lookalike son gets first pro win". 13 September 2023.
  15. ↑ "Like father, like son: Cruz Hewitt claims first ATP win at 15". 28 August 2024.
  16. ↑ "Why Canberra fans need to see son of a gun teen star Cruz". 19 December 2024.
  17. ↑ "Hewitt receives wildcard to join Birrell, Tomic in AO qualifying". 18 December 2024.
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