Australia's tennis stars walked the blue carpet at the 2025 Newcombe Medal awards night at the Paladium Ballroom at Crown Casino in Melbourne on Monday night.
They spoke to tennis.com.au as they arrived at Tennis Australia's night of nights.
Maya Joint, Newcombe Medal nominee and Australian women's singles No.1
What did you enjoy most about the night: "I love getting dressed up. This is very rare for all of us. And just seeing everyone again, it's really fun."
Kimberly Birrell, Australian Billie Jean King Cup representative
This is your first Newcombe Medal nomination. How does it feel to be nominated, given some of the people who have won the award: "It's really special, and my parents are here tonight, so I'm really glad that I can celebrate this achievement with them. I think it was around 10 years ago when I won the junior medal. So time has flown by. I am a little bit older now, but yeah, I'm really proud of my achievements this year, and this is a great way to top it off."
Dylan Alcott (pictured below), two-time Newcombe Medallist
What are you most looking forward to about tonight: "Oh just seeing our friends, to be honest and celebrating tennis. It's not lost on me how much tennis changed my life and a lot of people in this room are the reason that happened. So to be able to come back and say g'day and celebrate all their achievements is what it's all about."
Storm Hunter. former doubles world No.1
Who are you most looking forward to seeing on the dance floor tonight: "Kimbo (Kimberly Birrell) can knock out some dance moves. Like, you know, she's up for a good time. She will, she's had some amazing news. She's nominated, she's engaged. Um, you know, she's inside top 100, so I think, uh, she'll be on the dance floor."
Ellen Perez, Australian women's doubles No.1
What are you most looking forward to about the night: "I think seeing who wins the Newcombe Medal, I think there's two good contenders for it, but also it's just nice to celebrate. It's nice to see. I'm excited to see who the actor is that comes and plays (sings). I feel like every year that's what we're most anticipating. Even just catching up with people, seeing everyone dressed up."
Tristan Schoolkate, 2025 Newcombe Medal nominee
If you could invite any tennis legend to dinner, who would it be? What would you serve: Tough to go past Roger Federer. I feel like every single conversation would be perfect with him. What would I serve for food and drinks? Ooh, I don't know. Some nice white wine and maybe a few oysters would be pretty good.
Emerson Jones, former junior world No.1
What makes the Newcombe Medal Awards night so special: "I'd say catching up with people, seeing everyone all dressed up. It's really cool 'cause you only get to see them in tennis gear. So I think it's really special for all of us to get together and have a good night. I think it's exciting. It's pretty cool seeing everyone's outfits and dresses and all that."
Heath Davidson (pictured below), Rio 2016 Paralympics gold medallist
You're looking very suave in your green suit tonight. Is that number from your wardrobe, or is it a suit rental? "I definitely don't own a green suit. So the Valencia Group dresses us every year and um, yeah, just happy that for some reason I managed to get the extremely loud one. So yeah, it's, it's a bit of fun."
The Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards will be held on Monday 8 December at Melbourne's Palladium Ballroom.
Follow along on Tennis Australia's social channels as the evening unfolds using the hashtag #Newks25.
Find out more about the awards, including award categories and previous recipients.