Alex de Minaur and Matt Ebden share the Newcombe Medal at the Australian Tennis Awards
Alex de Minaur has again been recognised as Australian tennis’ best alongside an Olympic gold medallist - who claimed the award for a fifth time - at the sport’s night of nights.
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Alex de Minaur has claimed back-to-back Newcombe Medals as he was crowned joint winner of the honour with doubles star Matt Ebden at the Australian tennis awards on Monday night.
Australia’s top-ranked men’s singles player and world No.9, de Minaur claimed the honour for the third time after a career-best season in 2024.
De Minaur peaked at a career-high singles ranking of No.6 in the world in July and made consecutive quarter-final appearances at three grand slams.
The 25-year-old won the Newcombe Medal for the first time on his own at the end of last year after previously sharing it with Ash Barty in 2018.
In his fifth nomination, Ebden claimed his first Newcombe Medal win to cap off what he described as a “dream year” after he claimed the Australian Open men’s doubles title and reached world No.1 in doubles.
The 37-year-old also reached the semi-finals at the French Open before he teamed up with John Peers to win men’s doubles gold at the Paris Olympics.
The pair became the first Australians to win tennis gold since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in Atlanta 1996.
De Minaur, also nominated for a fifth time, reached the quarterfinals at three of the four grand slams in 2024 – the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – following an equal-best fourth round appearance at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
But de Minaur was denied a quarter-final showdown against 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon after he was forced to pull out due to a hip injury he suffered during his fourth-round clash.
De Minaur recovered to stage another quarter-final run at Flushing Meadows, despite arriving in New York with a question mark over his fitness levels having not played a competitive match in six weeks.
He had defeated Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the United Cup in an upset win in January.
The top-ranked Aussie also won ATP titles at Acapulco in February and ‘s-Hertongenbosch in the Netherlands in June to take his career tally to nine singles titles.
Speaking in a video from London where he won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, de Minaur said he was honoured to win the award again and share it with Ebden.
“I’m so proud and happy to win the Newcombe Medal award again, and want to say how much I appreciate it, and also being able to share it with Matt,” de Minaur said.
“It’s been an incredible year for Australian tennis and I’m just so happy to be part of it. I’d like to congratulate Matt, who’s done amazing things this year, and his team – the Olympic gold medal was a highlight, as well as all the other nominees tonight.
“I’d like to thank Tennis Australia, John Newcombe and everyone who has made this possible. Let’s all fight to have an even better year in 2025.”
De Minaur and Ebden were named joint winners from a field of nominees, which included Alexei Popyrin (NSW), Jordan Thompson (NSW), John Peers (WA), Max Purcell (NSW), and Olivia Gadecki (Qld).
Aussie tennis great John Newcombe hailed de Minaur’s rise into the world top 10 and Ebden’s doubles success across the year.
“Alex and Matt have made the entire Australian tennis community incredibly proud, not just with their outstanding achievements, but with the passion, resilience, and determination they’ve shown all year,” Newcombe said.
“Alex’s rise into the world’s top 10 is a remarkable accomplishment and a true reflection of his tireless work ethic and ability to overcome challenges.
“Watching him grow as a player and push the boundaries of his potential has been nothing short of inspiring.
“Matt’s extraordinary success in doubles, highlighted by a Grand Slam victory and his historic run to Olympic gold, along with his unwavering commitment to represent Australia in Davis Cup, is a testament to his exceptional skill and character. Their contributions exemplify the very best of Australian tennis values and traditions.”
In other awards, long-time official Pam Whytcross won the Spirit of Tennis Award in recognition of her contributions to Australian tennis on and off the court.
Darren Cahill was also acknowledged with an award for coaching excellence - performance.
A trio of Queenslanders were named the junior athletes of the year with Hayden Jones taking out the male award and Maya Joint and Emerson Jones sharing the female award.
There was also a special video tribute to tennis legend Neale Fraser, who died last week aged 91.
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