Three young wheelchair tennis players have combined to help Great Britain win the junior title at the 2025 BNP Paribas World Team Cup - the wheelchair equivalent of the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup - in Antalya, Turkey.

Seventeen-year-old Ruben Harris, from Canterbury, 14-year-old Lucas de Gouveia, from Beckenham, and 12-year-old Matthew Knoesen, from Staplehurst, were selected by the Lawn Tennis Association for the Lexus GB World Team Cup team alongside Gloucestershire’s Will Barton, the quartet remaining unbeaten in ties against Australia, Brazil, Germany, Belgium and the USA.

With each tie consisting of two singles matches and a doubles clash, De Gouveia and Harris’ doubles partnership was critical to keeping Great Britain’s title challenge on track after they won deciding contests against Australia, Brazil and semi-final opponents and top seeds Belgium.

With De Gouveia having made his Great Britain debut in 2024 and leaving Turkey on that occasion without a win, his unbeaten sequence of three singles matches and three doubles matches alongside Harris this year included a 6-3, 3-6, (10-7) doubles victory in the semi-finals against Belgium’s Luna Gryp and Alender Lantermann, two of the players he lost to 12 months ago.

De Gouveia said: “It’s a complete honour to represent the country for the second time here in Turkey, and to get the gold medal after we finished sixth last year is brilliant as we are the second-youngest team here.”

The duo’s deciding doubles victory over Belgium in the semi-finals was reminiscent of the 2023 World Team Cup final, when Harris was part of the Great Britain doubles partnership that beat the USA.

The Americans were the opponents in this year’s final, but no doubles match was needed as Harris wrapped up a 2-0 GB victory after beating Maximus Wong 7-6, 6-3.

The only member of this year’s gold medal-winning team to have also played in 2023, Harris said: “It feels great.

“It still hasn’t properly sunk in yet that we’ve won and, to be honest, I didn’t think we’d go this far this year.

“With it being my last year as a junior player, it’s really good to finish on a high. It’s my fourth year in a row doing World Team Cup and the team this year has been fantastic.”

For Knoesen, who trains at Bromley Tennis Centre along with De Gouveia, a memorable World Team Cup debut included his first win for his country after helping Great Britain to a 3-0 victory over Germany.

He also came within a point of beating world No.1-ranked junior player Vitoria Miranda in straight sets before being edged out 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3.

Reflecting on his GB debut, he said: “I was a bit disappointed with the result of my match against Vitoria after being so close, but I was happy with the way I played and the way I fought against a world No.1-ranked player.

“Maybe there were one or two things I could have done differently and it could have easily gone the other way.

“Against Germany, I played well, took my opportunities and it was a great chance to practise a few things that I needed to work on, so it was a very productive match.”

All three Kent players have a busy summer ahead, with tournaments in Great Britain and Europe on the agenda.