3 December 2013 | Tennis Queensland

Queensland’s honourable hard work and dedication towards Tennis was highlighted last night at the prestigious John Newcombe Medal Gala.

Ashleigh Barty from Springfield was recognised as the Female Junior Athlete of the Year. 2013 proved to be a breakthrough year for Ashleigh, who finished the year with a WTA singles ranking of 142 and a career high WTA doubles ranking of 12.

Ashleigh started the year off representing Australia in the Hyundai Hopman Cup in which she celebrated wins over Andrea Petkovic and former French Open champion Francesca Sciavone.

She continued her fine form during the Australian summer combining with countrywoman Casey Dellacqua to reach the final of the Australian Open doubles. A feat repeated at the Wimbledon and US Open Championships.

Clint Fyfe from the Sunshine Coast was the recipient of the Talent Development Coaching Excellence award.

Clint, a Tennis Australia Development coach, acts as the lead facilitator in the Tennis Australia Junior Development Coaching courses here in Queensland. Clint was also the manager of the 12/U Queensland boys team at the Rod Laver Cup in Melbourne.

Queensland Tennis Awards and Asia-Pacific Tennis League Queensland Conference winners the Shaw Park Tennis Centre were awarded the Most Outstanding Club accolade. With over 1,000 members, Shaw Park is undoubtedly a great success story in Queensland tennis.

Shaw Park is a 10 court facility that runs adult coaching programs, social and competitive fixtures, professional development on and off court, cardio tennis, MLC tennis hot shots and a participation and performance pathway for all players who walk through their doors.

In addition to working with disability groups, in 2012 and 2013 Shaw Park have successfully held an ATL franchise, the Shaw Park Sharks, with the Queensland Team successful in winning the female division of the ATL in 2013. 

To complete Queensland’s impressive compilation of awards, the Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba International was declared the Most Outstanding Tournament.

The 2013 Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba International built on their outstanding launch year in 2012, growing the event exponentially in 2013. The event was bolstered by the inclusion of a women’s event sponsored by Tilly’s Crawler Parts. Players were continuously treated by enthusiastic staff throughout the week and enjoyed the great facilities at the Toowoomba Regional Tennis Centre – USQ.