Former World No.1 Ashleigh Barty was awarded the Newcombe Medal for 2022 at the Australian Tennis Awards at Melbourne’s Crown Casino on Monday night. Despite spending the majority of the year in retirement, she took home the honors for a record fifth consecutive year.
The 27-year-old was recognized for her outstanding 2022 Australian Open campaign, where she did not drop a set en route to the title, which also saw her become the first Australian to win the women’s singles title Down Under in 44 years — since Chris O'Neal in 1977.
It was also the third Grand Slam singles title of her career, following the 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Barty also went undefeated (15 matches) the entire year, up until her retirement. Her 11 straight singles wins saw her clinch titles in Adelaide and Melbourne. She also partnered with Storm Sanders and took home the doubles in Adelaide.
Other players who were nominated for the award this year were Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, Wimbledon doubles champions Matt Ebden and Max Purcell, Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic, Australian Davis Cup hero Alex De Minaur, and Storm Sanders, who was part of the side that reached the finals of the Billie Jean Cup.
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🏅🏅ASH🏅BARTY🏅🏅
Winner of the Newcombe Medal — the highest individual honour in Aussie tennis — for a record fifth time.
Congratulations to our AO 2022 champion!