By Scott Spits
The Newcombe Medal was shared for the first time by two Australian tennis stars last year - Ashleigh Barty and Alex de Minaur - but there’s one near certainty in 2019: there will be only one distinct winner.
As the first Australian woman to finish as a year-end world No.1 - combined with a breakthrough major triumph at the French Open and three other WTA titles to her credit - Barty is a lay down misere to win the medal for a third consecutive year at Tennis Australia’s annual awards night on Monday.
The rise and rise of Barty to the current position of one of Australia’s best athletes has been something to behold. The 23-year-old secured her world No.1 spot in June after her heroics in Paris and, aside from a three-week period in August, Barty has barely since looked like being knocked off her perch.
Ashleigh Barty after winning the 2018 Newcombe Medal alongside Alex de Minaur. Credit: AAP
No surprise then that the Queenslander was also recognised as the latest winner of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Don award in October.
Barty has been nominated for the Newcombe Medal - awarded annually to Australia’s most outstanding elite tennis player and ambassador for the sport - alongside de Minaur, Dylan Alcott, John Millman and Ajla Tomljanovic. If Barty’s on-court feats weren’t already enough, she is more than ably filling her role as an ambassador for her chosen sport and women’s tennis in particular.
De Minaur, 20, could consider himself a touch unlucky not be in the mix for outright honours in 2019 after sharing the Newk with Barty last year.
Alex de Minaur with his medal last year. Credit: Justin McManus
He again made considerable inroads to achieve his current ranking of 18 - a career-high for Australia’s highest ranked man - won three titles and achieved his best grand slam result by reaching the US Open fourth round.
Each of the nominees can point to a year of progress or notable achievements in some way or another.
Millman had a firm footing inside the world’s top 50 for a second consecutive season, wheelchair tennis champion Alcott added three more majors to his kitbag - the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles - while Australia’s second best female player Tomljanovic reached a career-high ranking of No.39 and represented Australia for the first time, making her debut in the Fed Cup final against France.
John Millman in Japan. Credit: Getty Images
But it’s bound to be Barty’s night, ahead of January’s Australian Open where she will strive to become the first local winner - either male or female - in more than 40 years.
The Newcombe Medal may not be Barty’s final honour in 2019 either. She is one of five nominees for the WTA Player of the Year award - along with US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, Wimbledon winner Simona Halep, Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka and world No.2 Karolina Pliskova.
Given her status as the leading player in women's tennis and a convincing winner at the recent WTA Finals in Shenzhen, Barty seems to have a sound case for that award too.