Lleyton Hewitt has defended his son Cruz, 16, after online comments suggested he was involved in the Australian Open qualifiers due to his famous father.

Lleyton Hewitt has defended his son Cruz (Image: Getty)

Aussie tennis icon Lleyton Hewitt has hit back at claims his son was only invited to the Australian Open qualifiers due to nepotism. Cruz Hewitt, 16, was knocked out of the first round qualifying by world No.16 Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets earlier this month.

However, he won plaudits for his gutsy performance in a game that was played out in front of a packed crowd at Melbourne Park. Hewitt Jnr went down 6-1, 6-4 in just 73 minutes.

Yet his promising performance was not enough to ward off naysayers who believe Cruz was handed a wildcard for the qualifiers based on his famous surname. Some fans were also irked that the youngster was spotted training with some of the current greats of the game including Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

His father, one-time Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Lleyton, has now responded to chatter about his son’s inclusion. Despite his offspring being ranked 1,264th in the world, Lleyton, who has a net worth of over £20million, has claimed Cruz can handle himself with the current batch of tennis heavyweights.

“I was excited to watch him play,” Lleyton said during his stint on Australian network, Channel Nine. “He had a tough draw playing Basilashvili, a former No.16 and a guy who played finals at Indian Wells.

“For Cruz to be around these guys, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur…. what unbelievable role models for him to see how they prepare. He is playing well at the moment and it makes me excited when I see him hit with some of these world-class players… he can actually give them a good enough hit out there.”

Cruz Hewitt was knocked out of the qualifiers at Melbourne Park (Image: Getty)

While Cruz currently has a world ranking that won’t give the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz sleepless nights, his junior ranking is 107, and those close to the game insist he is a talent to be reckoned with.

Regardless of his tender age and inexperience, it didn’t stop a handful of comments berating his Open inclusion on social media platform X. One poster said: “Novak is practicing with Cruz Hewitt today [crying emoji] bruh Idt this helps at all.”

While another said: “He’s a decent junior. Got the wild card thanks to his dad, but WCs aren’t fair anyway lo.” A third simply added: “Nepo baby gonna Nepo!”

Hewitt Snr won Wimbledon in 2002 (Image: Getty)

However, fellow Australian legend Todd Woodbridge chimed in to defend Cruz and backed the young star. “Cruz is in these positions because he is a very good, talented young player and one of our best here in Australia,” he said.

“He deserves every opportunity he has got to be there. Some people [online trolls] would like to say otherwise. I know you [Lleyton] have to deal with that and you shouldn’t have to, so I am putting it out there — he deserves to be there.”

Cruz is now expected to play in the junior boy’s draw at the 2025 Open. After claiming two titles in Sydney and one in Christchurch, New Zealand last year, he will be raring to go. Play at Melbourne Park is set to get underway on January 18.