It had long been clear that he would end his career after the tournament. In front of the great backdrop of more than 3,000 fans on the Center Court the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne it got really emotional again.
The perception of para-sport is changing
“I really am the luckiest guy in the world and I didn’t need to win today to realize that” explained the 31-year-old at the microphone. “Thanks to all of you who watch us, people like me with disabilities get the attention and appreciation in our society.” When he looked out into the middle circle, tears rolled down his eyes. “When you look up and see the number of people with disabilities that are here today, that’s why I get up in the morning, really.” The applause that followed would not have been greater for Rafael Nadal or Ashleigh Barty.
For the past eight years, Dylan Alcott has not only dominated quad tennis, a wheelchair tennis discipline for people with severe paraplegia. The 15-time Grand Slam singles champion completely changed the perception of wheelchair tennis and people with disabilities in general in Australia – by thinking more confidently and bigger than any other disabled athlete. During the week, however, he reported that it wasn’t always like this.
Alcott in line with Cathy Freeman
In the middle of his last Grand Slam tournament, the tennis professional jetted from Melbourne to the capital, Canberra. There he was voted Australian of the Year – a nationally ingrained honor in the country. The most successful Australian tennis professional of recent years is in a row with the national icons Cathy Freeman, Allan Border and Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan).
Even in sleek evening wear, he immediately had the audience on his lips, joking on his “acceptance speech” with cynical and hard-hitting frankness: “By the way standing ovation one of the most ironic things in the world. But I’ll take it without a doubt.” The audience burst out laughing because all the invited guests knew who was sitting in front of them. Alcott has filled the awkward word inclusion with life in recent years. He is approachable, communicative and omnipresent. All of Australia knows him and his story.
“I didn’t want to be here anymore”
A few days after his birth, Alcott recalled during his speech in the capital, he was diagnosed with a tumor on his spinal cord and successfully removed. But the diagnosis that shocked his family soon followed. Alcott is paraplegic. He said: “All I know is living with a disability. And to be honest, I can’t tell you how much I hated myself. I hated this disability. I didn’t want to be here anymore – I really didn’t.”
He would have missed the role models in his childhood and youth. In addition to the support of the family, it was para-sports that gave him self-confidence. “That’s where I found the role models I was missing.”
Talented and articulate
With hard work and plenty of talent, he won Paralympic gold in wheelchair basketball with the Australian team in 2008. Silver followed four years later. In 2014, the all-rounder switched to tennis and to date has won 15 Grand Slam titles and other Paralympic gold medals in singles alone.
Beyond the sporting successes, Alcott changed the face of para-sports in Australia. “I noticed early on that I was talented, but I also found the words to describe what we do in a modern and good way. And I’ve always thought big,” he explained later in the evening at the well-filled press conference.
Publicity works
He found sponsors, national companies that recognized not only the sporting but also the communicative talent. “I asked for the chances and then gave everything and it was worth it for both sides”, he explained in the press conference. Now he has been a national, omnipresent advertising face for years. During the Australian Open he led as an expert through the evening program of the transmitting station.
Australia is also a world leader in para sports thanks to him. The Australian Open, prior to Alcott’s time in 2002, was the first of the four Grand Slam tournaments to host wheelchair competitions. “When I played here for the first time later, five people watched. And today 3,000 fans feel normal to me. Can you believe that?”
Defeat in the final against Schröder from the Netherlands
There was no sporting happy ending against his designated successor, the Dutchman Sam Schröer. The 22-year-old won his second major title with a 7-6 and 6-0 win. When Alcott switched sides again with the score at 0:5, the fans made a last deafening noise. “Enjoy”, he later said in the press round that he couldn’t really do it. He was physically too exhausted for this after the week’s travel stress. But publicity for people with disabilities has always been a little more important to him than sporting success.
In Canberra, Alcott stated: “People with disabilities need more representatives in politics, in sports, in dating apps and in society in general.” Alcott will leave a huge gap in tennis. In Australia, his influence will probably only increase after his sporting retirement.
Status: 01/27/2022, 18:58