The scale and enormity of Friday for wheelchair tennis at Melbourne Park cannot be understated. Seemingly everywhere, there was one Australian Open wheelchair final after another. At 1pm, we had our first champions of the day.

The Belgium-Brazil girls’ combo of Luna Gryp and Vitoria Miranda took just two sets and 51 minutes to see off Sabina Czauz of the United States and Ailina Mosko of Latvia in the Australian Open Junior Wheelchair Championships.

“Winning would have been awesome, but it’s awesome just being in the final,” said Czauz. "Junior wheelchair tennis has come such a long way, from its beginnings at the US Open to Roland Garros and now the Australian Open. Hopefully Wimbledon next.”

It was a most promising start to the day and another title was swiftly delivered as Brazil's Luiz Calixto and Charlie Cooper of the United States saw off Belgium's Alexander Lantermann and Benjamin Wenzel of Austria in the boys' wheelchair doubles final.

The match of the day, however, was developing nicely on Kia Arena with quad doubles top seeds Niels Vink and Guy Sasson surprisingly dropping the opening set 6-1 to their former doubles partners Sam Schroder and Andy Lapthorne respectively.

Two championship points on the lefty Schroder’s serve at 5-3 came and went before the No. 2 seeds swept in to win 6-1 6-4.

The presentation ceremony will have felt strange given their recent team swaps, but relations remain impeccable.

Lapthorne was clearly delighted before telling the crowd that Schroder is looking for a coach. The Dutch player is a not only a top-class athlete but the most decent of people and offers should be forthcoming.

“Well, anyone who is willing can send me an email,” said Schroder. “Like Andy said, I don't have a coach currently, so I'm definitely going to be looking for one.

"It's tough conditions now but I've had the support of the Dutch Federation, which I'm really grateful for, and Andy's team. I'm really grateful that we're able to achieve these great goals together."

Arguably the most impressive aspect to the new title comes with the lack of joint practice that has gone into it. 

“As the Netherlands and England are not too far apart, we're hoping to get together more often as the year moves forward," said Lapthorne.

And long-term Andy? His career is nearer the end than the beginning, but the 34-year-old is upbeat about the new partnership. 

"We'll see how we go," he added. "I'm hoping to carry on for as long as possible but I am getting older and the body is feeling it. Who knows what's around the corner?

Elsewhere, Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid beat France's Stephane Houdet and Daniel Caverzaschi of Spain 6-2 6-4 in the men’s wheelchair doubles final.

China, P.R.'s Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying dispatched Japan's Manami Tanaka and Zhenzhen Zhu of China, P.R. 6-2, 6-3 in the women's wheelchair doubles final.

A full list of results from the 2025 Australian Open Wheelchair Championships is available here