Ashleigh Barty punctuated the best season of her career earning another honor.
The world No. 1 was awarded the Newcombe medal for the third consecutive year at the Australian Tennis Awards.
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Hall of Famer John Newcombe was on hand to personally present Barty with the medal, awarded annually to Australia's top player.
Barty equaled Fed Cup teammate Samantha Stosur as only the second player to earn the Newcombe medal three times.
"It takes a village and we are a big tennis family. I’m very humbled to be here tonight," said Barty, who won the award for the first time in 2017 and shared Newcombe medal honors with Alex de Minaur last year. “I’m extremely fortunate to have such an amazing support network around me. It’s very special for me tonight to have mum, dad and my very first coach in Jim (Joyce) here.
"They gave me the unconditional love and support time and time again—in all the bad times and all the good times, they’re always there.
“There were a few words they said to me: ‘I love to watch you play’. And when your mum and dad say that to you, when your coach says that to you, that makes your heart race a little bit. Honestly it’s been incredible. I’m very grateful that they’re here to share it with me as well.”
The award caps a season in which Barty won the Miami Open, captured her first career Grand Slam singles crown at Roland Garros, rose to world No. 1 for the first time, won the WTA Finals and led Australia to its first Fed Cup final in 26 years.
The 23-year-old Barty posted a 57-13 record winning four titles on three different surfaces—Miami, Roland Garros, Birmingham and WTA Finals—in 2019 to top fellow nominees Dylan Alcott, Alex de Minaur, John Millman, and Ajla Tomljanovic for the Newcombe medal.
Photo credit: Tennis Australia