BARTY CLAIMS NEWCOMBE

TEAM Barty has reigned supreme on the biggest night in Australian tennis with coach and player scooping the silverware.

World No. 1 Ash Barty completed a Newcombe Medal three-peat after a record-breaking 2019, which included winning the French Open and the biggest cash prize in tennis history with victory in the WTA Finals.

She became the first Australian woman to end the year as the top-ranked player, claiming her third straight Newcombe Medal — having shared last year’s honours with Alex de Minaur — ahead of fellow Fed Cup player Ajla Tomljanovic, Dylan Alcott, John Millman and De Minaur.

Barty’s coach Craig Tyzzer — who has worked with Barty since her 2016 return to tennis — was also honoured for his coaching excellence.

Australian tennis legend John Newcombe presented Barty, 23, with the award, which comes just weeks after she was anointed the 2019 winner of The Don Award, for the athlete who most inspired the nation.

“I may be the only one out on the court playing the matches, but there’s a lot of people behind the scenes helping me in my day to day life,” Barty said. “They invest so much time and energy into my career and make so many sacrifices to help me achieve my dream so I’m very fortunate knowing that I have such an enthusiastic team around me.”

Barty is just the second player to win a trio of the awards, with Fed Cup teammate Samantha Stosur the only other. Stosur, 35, was recognised with the Spirit of Tennis award, a decade after claiming the first Newcombe Medal.

The former world No.4’s long-time former coach David Taylor described Stosur as “a terrific role model” whose leadership and professionalism had led to an incredible impact on Australian tennis.

“Sam has genuinely remained unchanged and unaffected by all her success,” Taylor said.

Alcott won Most Outstanding Athlete with a Disability, while West Australian Talia Gibson and NSW’s Rinky Hijikata were best junior athletes.