Lleyton Hewitt is back, and he couldn’t have scripted a better return.
The 44-year-old Aussie icon made a dream return to competitive tennis at the NSW Open in Sydney, partnering with his 18-year-old son Cruz for a blistering 6-1, 6-0 win over Pavle Marinkov and Hayden Jones.
If there was any concern about rust after a five-year break from the ATP Tour, Hewitt erased it in under an hour.
A day they’ll never forget 🇦🇺✨
Lleyton Hewitt comes out of retirement to team up with his son Cruz as they cruise to a 6-1, 6-0 debut win in Sydney!#ATPChallenger | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/e00TkW15PE
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 19, 2025
The father-and-son pairing marked Hewitt’s first competitive outing on the ATP Tour since the 2020
Australian Open, where he last featured in doubles alongside Jordan Thompson.
But this comeback was about sharing the court with the next generation of Hewitt.
“It’s something pretty unique and special,” Hewitt said before the match. “There’ll come a time when I won’t be able to keep up. But Cruz is good enough now, so the timing worked out perfectly.”
Sydney, of course, couldn’t be a more fitting stage. It’s where Cruz was born, where family and memories are rooted, and where Hewitt carved out some of the most defining moments of his career: four Sydney International titles, the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and the 2001 Tennis Masters Cup that catapulted him to world No. 1.
Hewitt’s resume remains one of Australia’s finest: 30 ATP singles titles, two Grand Slams, 80 weeks as world No. 1, and now Davis Cup captain.
