Jordanne Whiley ‘had to beat nerves as well as her top seed opponents’

Whiley, alongside partner Yui Kamiji, of Japan, downed number one seeds Marjolein Buis and Diede de Groot 6-3, 6-3 in New York on Sunday night to claim the championship.

It was the second time the pair had won at Flushing Meadows and their 11th grand slam tournament win overall.

Whiley and Kamiji took the initiative to go into a 3-1 first set lead and continued to pressurise Buis and De Groot to take the opening set.

However, the Dutch duo made a much brighter start to the second set and gained their own 3-1 lead.

But Whiley, from Halesowen, and best friend Kamiji regained the momentum to close out their 11th Grand Slam doubles title together.

A delighted Whiley said: “It feels like a very different title given the situation we are in, but I think we should be really pleased with what we’ve done and I was really pleased with how we played, particularly in the second set. And it’s really nice to be back on court with Yui, to be honest.

“Saturday’s semi-final was a much different match and we were pretty relaxed, but I was quite nervous (ahead of the final), purely because we haven’t played Marjolein and Diede as a team that much.

“But once I got into the match and we got the first set in the bag then I felt a lot better.”

And Whiley was thrilled to be able to engage with her fiancé and their young son Jackson family back in Britain thanks to the interactive fans’ screens at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

She added: “It was really emotional to see Jackson as I’ve only seen him a few times over FaceTime and I’ve missed him so much. So I really loved that touch we players have been given and he’d written me a little sign, so to be able to share that moment with him and my fiancé Marc was very special.”

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old revealed in an interview with BBC Radio Four that next year’s Paralympics would be her last as she called for more sponsorship to help the wheelchair game.

Whiley added that some players are ‘earning half as much as others’.

She said: “There is a big gap in the earnings of grand slam players and those on the ITF tour.

“There are 20 people who are full time and making a decent living and that is where I think it needs to change so more people can do that.”

But she pair tribute to the organisation of the US Open, adding: “We have each had our own private suite with food and drink on demand. Everything has been spotless and everyone is abiding by the rules. I cannot fault it.”

And Whiley, who won the singles title in New York in 2015 said the Tokyo Paralympics would be her last event as she looks ‘to expand our family’.

“I have done this for 20-odd years of my life and I think it’s time for a new chapter,” she said.