Wheelchair tennis icon Dylan Alcott named 2022 Australian of the Year

Dylan Alcott of Melbourne has been named the 2022 Australian of the Year according to ABC on Tuesday. The award  is significant as Alcott was the first Paralympian to receive the honour. A major reason for the accolade is because in 2021, Alcott won the golden grand slam, as he won the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open men’s wheelchair tennis titles, in addition to the gold medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. He also won the Australian Open men’s doubles title with Melbourne’s Heath Davidson.

The award was first presented in 1960 and includes people from all industries. Other athletes who have received the honour include sailor Jock Struck of Melbourne in 1962 (winner of the second race of the America’s Cup), swimmer Dawn Fraser of Balmain in 1964 (Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 100 metre freestyle), racecar driver Jack Brabham in 1966 (Formula One world champion), boxer Lionel Rose of Labertouche in 1968 (WBA and WBC bantamweight champion), tennis player Evonne Goolagong in 1971 (French Open and Wimbledon champion), swimmer Shane Gould of Sydney in 1972 (Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 200 metre freestyle, 400 metre freestyle, and 200 metre individual medley), marathon runner Robert de Castella of Melbourne in 1983 (world champion in Helsinki), sailor Kay Cottee of Sydney in 1988 (sailed the world), cricket player Allan Border of Sydney in 1989 (The Ashes champion), sprinter Cathy Freeman of Mackay in 1998 (women’s 400m gold medalist at the 1997 IAAF World Athletics Championship in Athens), cricket player Mark Taylor of Leeton in 1999 (broke world record for most test catches with 157), tennis player Patrick Rafter of Mount Isa in 2002 (2001 Wimbledon finalist), cricket player Steve Waugh of Sydney in 2004,  and Australian Rules footballer Adam Goodes in 2014.

On Thursday Alcott will be trying to win his eighth Australian Open title. Another reason for Alcott’s honour was his ability to fight for wheelchair tennis players. He fought hard to get wheelchair tennis on the schedule after it was initially dropped from the U.S. Open in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian Open semifinals are set. In men’s action, Rafael Nadal of Spain is playing Matteo Berrettini of Italy, and Daniil Medvedev of Russia is playing Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. In women’s action, Danielle Collins of the United States is facing Iga Swiatek of Poland and Madison Keys of the United States is facing Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.

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