Who is Cruz Hewitt? Inside story on the wonder kid who is emerging from the shadow of his famous father
Cruz Hewitt has been on the radar of tennis fans around the world throughout his entire life, but his status could be about to leap to a whole new level as he looks to emerge from the shadow of his famous father.
Lleyton Hewitt was a world No 1 and Wimbledon champion who maximised his potential to reach the top of the tennis tree in the years just before Roger Federer emerged as a dominant force in the men’s game.
Lleyton’s young son Cruz was inspired by the success of his legendary father and after growing up around some of the biggest names in the game, his adaptation to his own career in the sport may have been a little easier to navigate.
His Dad is still a prominent figure in tennis in his role as Australia’s Davis Cup captain, with Cruz getting all the best advice from a former player who has guided his son’s career up to the exciting breakthrough week.
Hewitt has been a shining star on the junior circuit in recent years and he reached the final of the Boys’ singles at Wimbledon last month to highlight his potential.
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Now he has taken his game to the next level as he has stepped up to the professional ranks and won his first ATP Tour match on Tuesday, beating fellow qualifier Marcos Giron of the United States 6-3 6-4 in 74 minutes.
“It’s pretty surreal to win here,” Hewitt said after his victory against Giron. “Obviously I saw my dad play here. I came to his last tournament, I remember. There are so many memories of that. To make it to round two, it’s very special.”
Getting wins on the senior ATP Tour is the ultimate dream for any player and Hewitt has finally reached his big goal after a long journey to the top.
This teenager developed tennis skills as he grew up in The Bahamas, and when the family relocated to the Gold Coast in 2021.
When asked by Tennis Australia to reflect on his tennis memories, he reflected back on some of his father’s great moments.
“I have obviously a lot of memories watching my dad play,” he said. “I remember watching his last Australian Open here. That was a cool experience. Him playing [at] Rod Laver [Arena] and me being there watching – and it was just a special experience that week.
“I had my first lesson in The Bahamas, actually with a few of my friends. And it was just a lot of fun. Just for fun at the start. And then didn’t really get fully, seriously into it until I was about 12.”
Cruz was also asked about his dream doubles partner and he offered up this response: “Obviously Carlos (Alcaraz) and Jannik (Sinner), but I’d love to play with some of the Aussie boys as well, like Demon (Alex de Minaur). That would be pretty cool as well, I looked up to him a lot.
His match-up against De Minaur in Washington is a special moment, as Alex has been a constant figure in his tennis life up to this point.
“I’ve seen Cruz grow up for the past 10 years. I’ve seen him become the man that he is right now. I’ve hit with him countless times.” said De Minaur.
“We both came here early before the tournament. The first few days we hit with each other. So it’s going to be a pretty cool feeling I think to be able to play him. I’m excited for it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
“He’s earned his way to where he is right now. He’s been playing some incredible tennis and ‘big boy’ tennis. I’m going to have to be ready and hopefully make his life as difficult as I can make it.
“Ever since he started, he picked up the racquet, ever since he was playing junior tournaments, the expectation, the eyeballs, the spotlight was already on him. It’s not easy when there is that kind of weight behind your surname.
“I think what he’s done an incredible job of is maturing and really getting a good head on his shoulders and coming into his own, becoming his own player, and really dealing with the spotlight and the expectations really, really well, and ultimately coming out and having these results on his own and kind of showing that he deserves to be where he is.
“I’ve hit with Cruz since for the last three, four years almost at every Slam. He’s out there, and we always hit with each other.
“It’s great to see him grow and develop and year after year becoming more of a man obviously and having this really good game and growing into his own body. Now he’s out here beating some very high-quality players.”
While having a former world No 1 as your father has to help your chances of reaching the top of the sport, Cruz Hewitt deserves so much credit for taking his career to these heights at the age of 17.
What comes next could be even more exciting.
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