De Minaur and Barty Share Tennis Australia’s Newcombe Medal

Alex de Minaur and Ashleigh Barty were so scintillating in 2018, that Tennis Australia had to break the rules to give them their due.The pair of rising Aussie phenoms were jointly awarded the Newcombe Medal on Monday at the Australian Tennis Awards in Melbourne.For Barty, who went 46-19 with two titles in 2018, its her second consecutive Newcombe medal. The 22-year-old took it home in 2017 as well after notching her first career Top 20 finish.De Minaur, still 19, burst onto the scene in 2018, rising from outside the Top 200 to his current perch at No.31 in the world. He was named ATP Newcomer of the Year.

History has been made in 2018. The highest individual honour in Australian tennis is awarded to @alexdeminaur and @ashbar96 🏅 🏅 #Newks18 pic.twitter.com/ne3wuNXOxR
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) November 26, 2018

“[The decision] was very difficult,” Newcombe said. “So we did the only sensible thing. For the first time, we have dual medallists.”“It’s been a whirlwind of a year–I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” De Minaur said. “I’ve just tried to keep improving each day, keep battling it out, keep fighting every single point. I’m super proud of my efforts.”

“It truly is amazing to be standing up here again,” Barty said of the honor. “I’m very grateful and very thankful to be in the position to be able to play the sport that I love, to do this as a job and to enjoy every single moment.”Darren Cahill picked up the coaching excellence award from Tennis Australia for his work with Simona Halep, while Destanee Aivia and Rinky Hijikata picked up the awards for male and female junior athlete of the year.Former star Casey Dellacqua was awarded with the Spirit of Tennis Award.