Dylan Alcott

Dylan Martin Alcott, OAM (born 4 December 1990)[1] is an Australian wheelchair basketballer, wheelchair tennis player, radio host and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team, known colloquially as the Australian "Rollers". At the age of 17 he became the youngest "Rollers" gold medal winner for wheelchair basketball, and was the youngest to compete in the Wheelchair Basketball competition.[2] In 2014, he returned to wheelchair tennis with the aim of participating at the 2016 Rio Paralympics,[2][3] at which he won gold medals in the Men's Quad Singles and Doubles.[1][4] He was named the 2016 Australian Paralympian of the Year due to his outstanding achievements at Rio.[5] Alongside his sporting career, he hosted the weekend afternoon radio show on Australian radio station Triple J, and the ABC live music show The Set, as well as being a commentator for the 2019 Australian Open. He also was a member of the panel on the AFL Footy Show in 2019. He is the only man to complete the Calendar-Year Grand Slam in quad doubles, winning all four major titles in 2019; in addition he has also won a non-calendar year Grand Slam in quad singles.

Dylan Alcott
2016 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Alcott
Country (sports)Australia
ResidenceHampton East, Victoria, Australia
Born (1990-12-04) 4 December 1990
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Turned pro2014
PlaysQuad, Right-handed
Singles
Career record214–53 (80.1%)
Highest rankingNo. 1 (29 June 2015)
Current rankingNo. 1 (16 March 2020)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenW (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
French OpenW (2019, 2020)
WimbledonW (2019)
US OpenW (2015, 2018)
Other tournaments
MastersW (2018)
Paralympic GamesW (2016)
Doubles
Career record96–38 (71.6%)
Highest rankingNo. 1 (9 September 2019)
Current rankingNo. 1 (16 March 2020)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenW (2018, 2019, 2020)
French OpenW (2019)
WimbledonW (2019)
US OpenW (2019, 2020)
Other doubles tournaments
Paralympic GamesW (2016)
Basketball career
Dandenong Rangers
PositionGuard
LeagueNational Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL)
Career information
Playing career2004–2012
Career highlights and awards
  • NWBL Low Point MVP (2010)
  • 4x Wheelchair Sports Victoria Junior Athlete of the Year (2004–2006 and 2008)
  • Junior National Championships MVP (2010)
  • Dandenong Rangers Most Improved Player (2007)

Early life

Dylan Alcott was born in Melbourne, Victoria, to parents Martin and Resie. He has an older brother named Zack.[2] He was born with a tumor wrapped around his spinal cord which was operated on during the first few weeks of his life.[6] The tumor was successfully cut out; however, it left Alcott a paraplegic, requiring him to use a wheelchair.

Alcott attended Brighton Grammar School from grade 6, and competed for Victoria in swimming, and Australia for wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball. Alcott graduated Brighton Grammar school in 2008.[6]

Alcott's first sport of choice was wheelchair tennis, where he represented Australia on numerous occasions, reaching a ranking of 100 in the world by age 16 (4th in the world for under-18s).

Basketball
Alcott in a game versus Great Britain

Alcott played his first game of wheelchair basketball aged 14.[2] Alcott made his debut for the Rollers at the World Championship, where they won a bronze medal. Alcott continued to hold his spot and was a member of the Rollers who travelled to the Beijing Olympic warm-up tournament in January 2008. Alcott made his name in basketball through his performances in the national league competition, competing for the Dandenong Rangers and being selected in the all star team for 2008. He has achieved success through junior competition as well; being named the Most Valuable Player at the Junior National Basketball Championships.

Alcott was part of the gold medal winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics,[7][8] for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia.[9] In his first Paralympics Dylan was quoted; "To be 17 and win gold... well it just doesn't get any better than that".[10]

In 2009, Alcott accepted a scholarship at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he went on to win the College Championship division with the University of Illinois wheelchair basketball team. After one year of study, he decided to move back to Melbourne to train for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

In 2010, Alcott was a part of the Rollers success at the 2010 World Championships in Birmingham, England. It was the first world championship the Australian wheelchair basketball team had ever won, and Alcott was named in the World All Star 5 for the tournament.

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Alcott was part of the Australian men's wheelchair team that won silver.[11]

Tennis
Alcott during the 2014 Swiss Open in Geneva

In 2014, Alcott returned to wheelchair tennis.[12] At the age of 16, he was ranked inside the top five juniors in the world.[12] In July 2014, he defeated world number three Andy Lapthorne 7–5, 6–1 in the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championship final in Nottingham to win his first Super Series crown.[13] Early in the year, he won the New Zealand Open in just his second tournament appearance.[13] In January 2015, he won the quad wheelchair Australian Open title by defeating David Wagner in straight sets.[14] It was his maiden grand slam title.[14] At the conclusion on 2015, he was ranked number 1 after winning eight titles including two grand slam singles titles.[3]

Alcott teamed up with Heath Davidson to win the Men's Quad Doubles gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[1] They defeated the reigning champions David Wagner and Nick Taylor in the gold medal match 4–6, 6–4, 7–5.[1] The day after winning gold in the Men's Doubles, he defeated Andy Lapthorne 6–3, 6–4 to win the gold medal in the Men's Quad Singles.[1]

In 2018, Alcott won his first Wheelchair Tennis Masters title in the Quads singles event.[15]

Personal life

Alcott has a Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne. He currently works as a motivational speaker and as a radio host on Triple J.[16] In his spare time, Alcott attends music festivals, and has become known for his "wheelchair crowdsurfing".[17] In 2018, he launched Ability Fest, a universally accessible music festival, featuring pathways for wheelchairs, quiet areas for people with sensory disabilities, and Auslan (Australian Sign Language) interpreters.[18] Alcott was a panel member on the AFL Footy Show until the show was cancelled in 2019.

Alcott's advice to young people with a disability is: "The biggest thing is that for every one thing you can’t do, there are 10,000 others you can. For every one idiot to give you a hard time, there are 10,000 others worth your time."[2]

In 2017, Alcott established the Dylan Alcott Foundation "with the core purpose of helping young Australians with disabilities gain self-esteem and respect through sport and study".[19] In September 2017, Alcott was appointed Australian Patron for International Day of People with Disability.[20]

The book Able: gold medals, grand slams and smashing glass ceilings, written with Grantlee Kieza, was published by ABC Books in 2018.[21]

Alcott's partner is sex therapist Chantelle Otten.[22]

Tennis career statistics

Grand Slam performance timelines
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through the 2020 French Open.

Quad singles
Tournament20142015201620172018201920202021 SR
Australian Open RR W W W W W W 6 / 7
French Open Not held W W 2 / 2
Wimbledon Not held W NH 1 / 1
US Open A W NH RR W F F 2 / 5

    Quad doubles
    Tournament20142015201620172018201920202021 SR
    Australian Open F F F F W W W 3 / 7
    French Open Not held W F 1 / 2
    Wimbledon Not held F W NH 1 / 2
    US Open A F NH F F W W 2 / 5

      Quad singles: 13 (11 titles, 2 runner-up)
      Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
      Win2015Australian OpenHard David Wagner6–2, 6–3
      Win2015US OpenHard David Wagner6–1, 4–6, 7–5
      Win2016Australian Open (2)Hard David Wagner6–2, 6–2
      Win2017Australian Open (3)Hard Andy Lapthorne6–2, 6–2
      Win2018Australian Open (4)Hard David Wagner7–6, 6–1
      Win2018US Open (2)Hard David Wagner7–5, 6–2
      Win2019Australian Open (5)Hard David Wagner6–4, 7–6(7–2)
      Win2019French OpenClay David Wagner6–2, 4–6, 6–2
      Win2019WimbledonGrass Andy Lapthorne6–0, 6–2
      Loss2019US OpenHard Andy Lapthorne1–6, 0–6
      Win2020Australian Open (6)Hard Andy Lapthorne6–0, 6–4
      Loss2020US OpenHard Sam Schröder6–7(5–7), 6–0, 4–6
      Win2020French OpenClay Andy Lapthorne6–2, 6–2

      Quad doubles: 15 (7 titles, 8 runner-ups)
      Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
      Loss2014Australian OpenHard Lucas Sithole Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		4–6, 4–6
      Loss2015Australian OpenHard Lucas Sithole Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		0–6, 6–3, 2–6
      Loss2015US OpenHard Gauri Sharma Nicholas Taylor
      David Wagner      		6–4, 2–6, [7–10]
      Loss2016Australian OpenHard Andy Lapthorne Lucas Sithole
      David Wagner      		1–6, 3–6
      Loss2017Australian OpenHard Heath Davidson Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		3–6, 3–6
      Loss2017US OpenHard Bryan Barten Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		5–7, 2–6
      Win2018Australian OpenHard Heath Davidson Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		6–0, 6–7(5–7), [10–6]
      Loss2018US OpenHard Bryan Barten Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		6–3, 0–6, [4–10]
      Win2019Australian Open (2)Hard Heath Davidson Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		6–3, 6–7(6–8), [12–10]
      Win2019French OpenClay David Wagner Ymanitu Silva
      Koji Sugeno      		6–3, 6–3
      Win2019WimbledonGrass Andy Lapthorne Koji Sugeno
      David Wagner      		6–2, 7–6(7–4)
      Win2019US OpenHard Andy Lapthorne Bryan Barten
      David Wagner      		6–7(5–7), 6–1, [10–6]
      Win2020Australian Open (3)Hard Heath Davidson Andy Lapthorne
      David Wagner      		6–4, 6–3
      Win2020US Open (2)Hard Andy Lapthorne Sam Schröder
      David Wagner      		3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
      Loss2020French OpenClay Andy Lapthorne Sam Schröder
      David Wagner      		6–4, 5–7, [8–10]

      Recognition

      References
      1. "Dylan Alcott". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
      2. McLachlan, Hamish (7 November 2015). "Hamish McLachlan: What you didn't know about paralympian Dylan Alcott". Herald Sun. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
      3. "Fan favourite Alcott defends quad wheelchair title". AustralianTennis Open website. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
      4. "Paralympic glory in sight for Australia's wheelchair tennis athletes". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
      5. "Alcott crowned Paralympian of the Year". Australian Paralympic Committee News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
      6. A c h i e v i n g S u c c e s s I n L i f e, L e a r n i n g & S p o r t : Eight School Aged Athletes Share Their Journey. Melbourne: Victorian Institute of Sport. 2008.
      7. McGarry, Andrew (4 September 2008). "Event guide: Wheelchair basketball". ABC. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
      8. "Basketball Chronology". Basketball Australia. 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
      9. "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)". ABC News. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
      10. "Athlete Profile – Dylan Alcott". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
      11. "Men's Wheelchair Basketball Results". London 2012 Paralympic Games. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
      12. "Australia's Dylan Alcott returns to first love". International Paralympic Committee News, 10 February. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
      13. "Dylan Alcott wins the British Open Tennis Crown". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 21 July 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
      14. Morgan, Liam. "Alcott claims maiden Grand Slam title in front of home crowd at Australian Open". Inside the Games, 31 January 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
      15. "Dylan Alcott wins first title". Paralympics. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
      16. Wilmoth, Peter (17 July 2017). "The extraordinary life of paralympian-turned-DJ Dylan Alcott". The Weekly Review. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
      17. Te Koha, Nui (14 December 2014). "Paralympian Dylan Alcott wows crowd at Meredith Music Festival". Herald-Sun. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
      18. Asher, Nicole (7 April 2018). "Melbourne's first Ability Fest launched by Paralympian Dylan Alcott". ABC News. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
      19. "What we do". Dylan Alcott Foundation. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
      20. "Dylan Alcott announced as Patron for International Day of People with Disability". Dept. of Social Services website. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
      21. Alcott, Dylan; Kieza, author.), Grantle (2018). Able : gold medals, grand slams and smashing glass ceilings. Sydney, NSW : ABC Books. ISBN 9780733339875.
      22. "Dylan Alcott's partner Chantelle Otten shares sex confession about the couple's first time". News.com.au. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
      23. McGowan, Marc (24 November 2015). "Dylan Alcott's Newcombe medal snub a bad look following Kyrgios/Tomic excuse". Adelaide Advertiser. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
      24. "Australian Tennis Awards Honour Roll". Tennis Australia website. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
      25. "Victorian Champion Wins VIS Sport Of Excellence Award". Minister of Sport and Recreation Media Releasr.
      26. "The Best of the Best Honoured at the Victorian Sports Awards". Best of the Best Honoured at the Victorian Sports Awards.
      27. "'The Don' 2016 Finalists Announced". Sport Australia Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
      28. Walsh, Scott (8 December 2016). "Dylan Alcott wins double at Australian Paralympic Awards". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
      29. "Alcott awarded 2016 Newcombe Medal". Tennis Australia website. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
      30. "Mighty Mack wins Award of Excellence". Victorian Institute of Sport website. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
      31. "Alcott named ITF wheelchair quad world champion". Tennis Australia website. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
      32. Idato, Michael (30 June 2019). "ABC, Ten win big, Tom Gleeson takes gold at Logie Awards". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
      33. "James goes back-to-back". Victorian Institute of Sport website. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
      34. "Australian Tennis Awards winners honoured in Melbourne". Tennis Australia. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
      External video
      One Plus One: Dylan Alcott, One Plus One, ABC News


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