Cruz Hewitt suffers heartbreaking new blow as Lleyton Hewitt’s son loses at Challenger event in Brisbane

Cruz Hewitt’s push to replicate his tennis legend father Lleyton continues to suffer setbacks, with the latest a brutal blow to the youngster.

Cruz Hewitt has been dealt a brutal fresh setback after being hurt in his latest defeat in the qualifying round of a Challengers event in Brisbane.

The 16-year-old has been pushing in recent months to finally make his debut on the second-tier Challengers Tour but once again fell painfully short, losing to Matthew Hulme in the second round of qualifying at the Brisbane Challenger.

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Cruz looked in control after claiming the opening set to the World No. 823 before it all went wrong.

However soon after the young Hewitt stretched to return a ball hit to him with spin by Hulme, before he lost his footing and fell hard.

Cruz appeared to land awkwardly on his left wrist and was seen grimacing in pain.

He eventually got to his feet and continued on bravely but ultimately fell short 6-4 4-6 0-6.

It marked the fifth time Cruz has failed to book his spot in the main draw of a Challengers event.

But in a positive sign the injury isn’t as bad as first feared, on Tuesday he took to the court in the men’s doubles with partner Duje Markovina.

The pair took the first set but ultimately fell 6-4 3-6 13-15.

Cruz Hewitt has suffered another set back in his bid to play on the men's tour. Image: Getty

The latest singles defeat comes as Hewitt has been in the spotlight over the past few months following his display at the Australian Open.

The Aussie tennis star attempted to qualify for the main draw of the grand slam, 28 years after his dad made his Melbourne Park debut.

However, he was knocked out in the first qualifying round by Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets.

But the teen would later progress to the second round of the boy’s singles tournament at Melbourne Park, after beating MooBeen Kim in the first round being smashed by Jan Kumstat in the second round.

Cruz Hewitt continues to push for his debut spot on the Challenger Tour. Picture: Mark Stewart

Cruz has also sadly been subjected to harsh criticism in recent months, with some branding his wildcard into the Australian Open qualifying draw as “nepotism”. 

But Channel 9 commentator Todd Woodbridge leapt to the defence of the teen.

“Cruz is in these positions because he is a very good, talented young player and one of our best here in Australia,” Woodbridge said to Channel 9 during last month’s Aussie Open.

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

Originally published as Cruz Hewitt suffers heartbreaking new blow as Lleyton Hewitt’s son loses at Challenger event in Brisbane