Newcombe Medal: Dylan Alcott wins highest honour in Australian tennis
Updated
Dylan Alcott carves his name in sports history as the first wheelchair athlete to win the Newcombe Medal, the highest individual award in Australian tennis.
The world number one and triple Olympic gold medallist joined majors champions Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, among others, on the honour roll after receiving his award from John Newcombe in Melbourne on Monday night.
Snubbed for a nomination last year despite two triumphs in the majors, Alcott could not be denied again after a dominant 2016 in which he successfully defended his Australian Open title, won singles and doubles gold at the Rio Paralympics and was crowned Australia's Paralympian of the Year.
The 25-year-old, who also won Paralympics gold in wheelchair basketball in 2008, partnered with fellow Victorian Heath Davidson to win the World Team Cup in Tokyo and collected other titles in Brisbane, Sydney, South Africa, Japan Open, France and Britain.
Alcott is the fourth different winner in as many years following 2015 recipient Sam Groth, 2014 winner Nick Kyrgios, Hewitt in 2013 and Stosur, a three-time Newcombe medallist.
Stosur was again short-listed after reaching the French Open semi-finals for a fourth time, with Daria Gavrilova, John Millman, Jordan Thompson and doubles specialist John Peers the other 2016 nominees.
Despite successful years on court, Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic, who were both conspicuous no-shows from the awards ceremony on Monday night, were overlooked contenders for Australia's "most outstanding elite tennis player and ambassador for the sport".
The full list of award winners
- Newcombe Medal: Dylan Alcott
- President's spirit of tennis award: Angie Cunningham
- Coaching excellence (high performance): Des Tyson
- Coaching excellence (club): Helen Magill
- Coaching excellence (talent development): Stephen Thompson
- Female junior thlete of the year: Kimberly Birrell
- Male junior athlete of the year: Alex De Minaur
- Most outstanding athlete with a disability: Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson
- Volunteer achievement award: Kathy Brummitt
- Most outstanding 35+ tennis senior: Leanne Swaysland
- Excellence in officiating: Troy Deighton
- Most outstanding club: East Malvern Tennis Club
- Most outstanding Australian ranking tournament: Ferntree Gully Kia MUSTA Silver AMT
- Most outstanding professional tournament: Canberra International
- Most outstanding school: Wembley Primary School
AAP
Topics: tennis, sport, australia
First posted
