Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott have capped off their outstanding 2021 campaigns by being announced as joint Newcombe Medal winners.
Key points:
- Ash Barty now has a record four Newcombe Medals
- It is the second time Dylan Alcott has received the award
- Both Barty and Alcott achieved success in the majors this year
It was a record-setting fourth consecutive Newcombe Medal for Barty, who won her first Wimbledon women’s singles title and finished the year ranked number one in the world.
Alcott became the first male tennis player to win the “Golden Slam” in 2021, with the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and Paralympic titles in quad wheelchair singles.
“It’s been an exceptional year and to share it with Dylan is incredible,” Barty said.
“He’s an incredible person.”
Barty was Australia’s first women’s Wimbledon champion since 1980.
She also joined the likes of Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert as only the eighth woman to finish as year-end number one for three straight seasons.
In addition to adding the Wimbledon crown to her 2019 French Open championship, Barty won titles in Melbourne, Miami, Stuttgart and Cincinnati this year.
She was also named the ITF world champion and WTA player of the year.
Barty’s all-conquering season came despite taking 11 months out of the game between February 2020 and January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been a really rewarding year, a hell of a year,” Barty said.
“I think off all the hard work I’ve done behind the scenes with my team. It started with a massive pre-season last October.
“We worked our backsides off all year to try to give myself a chance to try and compete with the best in the world.”
Alcott’s stellar season
Alcott’s singles victories at the four majors this year saw his tally rise to 15, helping him be named as the ITF’s quad wheelchair world champion.
He also won the Australian Open doubles title with compatriot Heath Davidson in 2021.
The 31-year-old will retire from tennis at next month’s Australian Open, where he will be aiming to win an eighth successive singles championship.
Alcott said it was “pretty awesome” to join Barty and Sam Stosur as only the third Australian to snare at least two Newcombe Medals.
“You get lost for words, to be honest,” he said.
“When I won the Newk (Newcombe Medal) in 2016, it was a massive moment.
“It was a real glass-ceiling-shattering moment because an athlete with a disability had never really won an award like that, a notoriously able-bodied award.
“It’s kind of weird now but it feels a bit more normal now, doesn’t it? And that’s so cool.”
AAP/ABC