6 December 2011 | Tennis Queensland

Springfield’s Ashleigh Barty crowned 2011 Female Junior Athlete of the Year

Ashleigh Barty of Springfield, Queensland was named 2011 Female Junior Athlete of the Year at the gala Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards at Crown Palladium in Melbourne last night.

The other finalist in this Award category was Naiktha Bains (Qld).

Barty, who was crowned the Wimbledon Junior Champion in 2011 and won the 18s National Championships last week in Melbourne, had the honour of accepting her  Australian Tennis Award from Steve Wood, CEO of Tennis Australia, and four-time Australian Open champion, Evonne Goolagong Cawley,  who is Barty’s favourite tennis player.

“I am very honoured to receive this Award again, last year I had a great year and I didn’t think I would be able to top it,” expressed Barty.

“I would like to do better, I was really please to have that win at Wimbledon, I would like to play in more Grand Slams and develop as a player and see how it goes,” she added.

 Nominations for this prestigious award were received from 1 August 2011 to 31 October 2011, with finalists, and the eventual winner, selected through rigorous process with specific eligibility and selection criteria. 

The Newcombe Medal is the premier award on a night that recognises service to tennis at all levels – club, coaches, players, volunteers, community and officials.

The Newcombe Medal was also presented last night to Australia’s most outstanding elite player, Samantha Stosur, and is named in honour of Australian tennis legend John Newcombe.

This is the second consecutive year Stosur has won this prestigious award.

“I feel very honoured to receive the Newcombe Medal for a second year in a row particularly with all the talent we had in the room tonight,” Stosur said. 

“The Newcombe Medal is a great initiative and a very special occasion for the whole Australian Tennis community to celebrate our sport. As we are all on the tennis circuit for the majority of the year it is a fantastic opportunity to get everyone together in one place which normally is very hard to do.

“It is a great night and I am so happy that we now take the time to recognising all those who are doing their best for Australian tennis, now and in the past, as well as those that will aid the development of our sport in the future.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tennis Australia

The winners for the 15 Award categories are as follows:

Newcombe Medal

• Samantha Stosur, Qld

 Spirit of Tennis Award

• Lleyton Hewitt, SA

 Coaching Excellence – High Performance

• David Taylor, NSW

 Most Outstanding Tournament

• McDonald’s Burnie International, TAS

 Coaching Excellence – Club

• Peter Owen, Vic

 Coaching Excellence – MLC Tennis Hot Shots

• Wesley Horskins, Vic

 Excellence in Officiating

• Donna Kelso, NSW

 Junior Athlete of the Year (Female)

• Ashleigh Barty, Qld

 Junior Athlete of the Year (Male)

• Luke Saville, SA

 Most Outstanding 35+ Tennis Senior

• Glenn Busby, Vic

 Most Outstanding Athlete with a Disability

• Kelly Wren, NSW

 Most Outstanding Club

• Sale Tennis Club, Vic

 Most Outstanding Tennis Community

• Tennis Gove, NT

Volunteer Achievement Award

• Tom Hancy, Vic

 Most Outstanding school

• Middle Years Tennis Schools at Box Hill Secondary College, Vic