The upcoming Newcombe Awards will recognise clubs and coaches for their outstanding contributions from an Australian perspective.
Below are the nominees for each category:
Most Outstanding Club:
Mooloolaba Tennis Club (Queensland)
Located in Queensland's Sunshine Coast, the Mooloolaba Tennis Club has focused on investing in facilities to help develop juniors and have great pride in their coaching program to offer accessible pathways for the next generation of players.
Melba Tennis Club (ACT)
Receiving back-to-back nominations, Melba Tennis Club in the country's capital prioritises growth by enhancing their facilities and ensuring a strong culture within the tennis community.
Prospect Tennis Club (South Australia)
An increase in participation numbers this year at the Prospect Tennis Club was helped by a $1.4 million overhaul of their tennis centre to create more courts and accomodate the rise in juniors attending the Club.
Coaching Excellence - Club:
Wayne Fielder (Queensland)
Fielder won Tennis Queensland's Coaching Excellence Club Award last month thanks to his leadership in programs such as 'NoLimits' and 'Learn 2 Lead.'
He is head coach at the Baseline Tennis Coaching Academy in North Queensland, who continues to support Club Pro course participants.
Ben McLachlan (Northern Territory)
Given the difficult conditions up in Darwin, McLachlan has gone above and beyond to promote the sport and provide better foundations.
A coach of all ages, he is the head coach and owner of Top End Multi Sports, a sporting facility which offers a range of coaching options in multiple sports for juniors and developing players.
Robert Jamieson (ACT)
Nominated for the Tennis ACT Club Coach of the Year on multiple occasions, Jamieson is now the head coach of the Pines Tennis Club, delivering programs for all ages since 2012.
In recent times, he has contributed towards athletes being selected in the NDS programs with Tennis Australia, who has also coached local Tuggeranong juniors in the ACT Junior Development Series.
Coaching Excellence - Development:
George Vogiatzis (Victoria)
Associated with the Vida Tennis Academy, Vogiatzis possesses 16 years of tennis experience and coaches at the MCC Glen Iris Valley Tennis Club in St Kilda and Mount Waverley.
His skills varying from on-court development plans, weekly volume of training and physical development have helped produce three national champions in the past 12 months.
James Connelly (Western Australia)
Having coached his players to nine ITF Junior titles and five national titles, Connelly's work at Perth's Hensman Park Tennis Club has been recognised.
Under his watch with over 10 years of coaching experience, four scholarships were handed out to American college students in 2024.
Shayne Tabb (Queensland)
Tabb, a performance elite coach, is currently tasked with the role of developing juniors at Queen's Park Tennis Club based on the Gold Coast.
As part of his coaching achievements, Tabb coached 14-year-old Australian Tori Russell at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals.
Coaching Excellence - Performance:
Darren Cahill (South Australia)
Coach of Jannik Sinner since July 2022, Cahill helped the Italian achieve his best season in 2024, winning two Grand Slams titles, claiming the world No.1 ranking and securing a 73-6 win-loss record.
Considering the drama surrounding Sinner this year involving the drugs saga, the Aussie coach has been praised for his handling of the situation, allowing his player to produce career-best form.
Chris Mahony (Queensland)
18-year-old rising star Maya Joint has had Chris Mahony coaching her throughout 2024, assisting the teenager to soar 655 places in the rankings to world No.118 and appear in her maiden Grand Slam main draw at the US Open, where she clinched an opening round victory.
Two titles in Burnie and Santo Domingo provide optimism heading into the future with Mahony in Joint's corner.
David Taylor (New South Wales)
Taylor guided 16-year-old young-gun Emerson Jones to a phenomenal season, as the teen reached two Junior Grand Slam finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Jones became the first Australian woman since Jelena Dokic in 1998 to achieve the No.1 junior singles ranking, winning the ITF World Tennis Junior Finals in Chengdu, China.
The Newcombe Awards will be held at Melbourne's Crown Palladium on Monday, December 9.
Comments