De Minaur, Ebden awarded Newcombe Medal for 2024
Alex de Minaur and Matthew Ebden both hit some standout milestones in 2024. On Monday night in Melbourne, Tennis Australia recognised the duo’s on-court achievements this year by awarding them both the 2024 Newcombe Medal.
De Minaur and Ebden were presented with the prestigious award, which is named after the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings John Newcombe. It is the highest individual honour in Australian tennis and is awarded annually to the country’s most outstanding elite player and ambassador for the sport. This year, De Minaur and Ebden shared the award in recognition of their resepctive outstanding achievements on the global stage.
De Minaur racked up a 47-21 match record in 2024, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and reached a career-high No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings in July. The 25-year-old, who won tour-level crowns in Acapulco and ‘s-Hertogenbosch to take his career tally of ATP Tour titles to nine, also made his Nitto ATP Finals debut in Turin in November.
“I’m so proud and happy to win the Newcombe Medal award again, and want to say how much I appreciate it, and also being able to share it with Matt,” said De Minaur via video link from London. “It’s been an incredible year for Australian tennis and I’m just so happy to be part of it. I’d like to congratulate Matt, who’s done amazing things this year, and his team – the Olympic gold medal was a highlight, as well as all the other nominees tonight.
“I’d like to thank Tennis Australia, John Newcombe and everyone who has made this possible. Let’s all fight to have an even better year in 2025.”
[ATP APP]While it was a third Newcombe Medal for the current World No. 9 De Minaur, doubles star Ebden was delighted after receiving the prestigious prize for the first time. The 37-year-old won the Australian Open alongside Rohan Bopanna in January, rose to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings for the first time in February, and later claimed the gold medal at the Paris Olympics with John Peers.
“It’s a bit surreal, to be honest. I’ve been nominated a few times over the years and never thought I’d actually win,” said Ebden. “I am proud and happy because I look back on the year and honestly, I put everything out there at all times and was able to get some great achievements.
“It’s hard to digest and reflect on all the great things that have been happening this year. I’m just super grateful that they’ve happened. To cap it off with this award, and to be recognised, not just for this year, but I feel for 20 years of hard work and just improving little bit by little bit over all the years, it’s probably led me to this.”
Both De Minaur and Ebden will begin their 2025 season on home soil at the United Cup, where Australia will compete in Sydney. The host country of the mixed teams event will take on Argentina and Great Britain in group play as it looks to better its semi-final run from 2024.
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