As Dylan Alcott spoke to the world’s media in his final Australian Open post-match press conference in the main interview room at Melbourne Park, it was not that his competitive wheelchair tennis career had come to an end that brought tears to his eyes. Neither was it that his final competitive match had ended in defeat when an eighth successive Australian Open singles title had been the dream scenario.

No, it was a text from Andy Murray – one of many prominent stars to pay tribute to Alcott’s achievements and impact as his retirement approached.   

“I hope he doesn't mind this, but Andy Murray just messaged me,” said Alcott. “I don't know if I have articulated that well, but you're an absolute rock star and inspiration. Thanks for everything you've done,” the 31-year-old added as he relayed Murray’s words.

“That kills me. Makes me want to cry. Special. You're part of it. Just part of it. Like I don't even care you're in a wheelchair. It's special. It's so nice, you know. It's like that everywhere here. I never thought that would happen. It's cool, really cool. It's better than winning a tennis tournament. This is a legend of the sport. Wheelchair tennis - if it's good enough for someone like that, it's good enough for everyone.”

It's 20 years since Alcott took up wheelchair tennis, crediting the sport as having ‘saved my life’ as a shy teenager took his first tentative steps on a road that would lead to him becoming one of the most recognisable personalities not only in Paralympic sport, but world sport – and 2022 Australian of the Year, no less.

The fact that the Australian of the Year awards ceremony on Australia Day – 26 January – fell between Alcott’s semi-final and final against Sam Schroder at Melbourne Park, requiring a whistle-stop round trip to Canberra - may have had some impact on his performance in the last competitive match of his career, but Alcott made light of it and was not using it as any excuse.

“To win and be able to do that and to be Australian of the Year… that stuff's way more important than winning tennis tournaments to me,” he said. “(I’m) bummed not to finish out winning it (the Australian Open quad final), but the difference between 15 and 16 Grand Slams to me is not much, to be honest. The same as 15 to 8. Like, I don't count them. I forget how many I've won. It's not what I'm about.

“I didn't deserve to win today. Sammy played really well so credit to him. I didn't play my best tennis.”

What gets Alcott – in his own words - ‘out of bed’ is the opportunity to change perceptions of people with disabilities and what can be achieved if given the opportunity.

“People might think that I love myself and it's all about me but it's not.“ he said. ”That's not what I'm about. It's about changing perceptions so more people with disability get their opportunity to be them. Not winning a gold medal, not winning Grand Slams, but just going to a cafe, enjoying their life, having a job, going on a date, having a hit at tennis, whatever it is.”

Alcott has long-since acknowledged that his success as an athlete – which included winning gold and silver medals while representing Australia in wheelchair basketball at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympics, before his three gold medals and a silver in tennis at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 - has given him the platform to fulfil what he sees as his bigger role. And, given the platform, his infectious personality speaks volumes.

It’s a personality that has seen him forge a highly successful radio and TV career and has arguably been the larger part of the Melbourne native transcending wheelchair tennis and Paralympic sport.

“It's about what I say, I guess,” Alcott confirmed to the gathered reporters in front of him and online. “Who I am, mostly being fully proud of who I am, authentically me, and challenging the status quo, saying, ‘Why the hell can't we be on Rod Laver? Why the hell can't I do a post-match (interview)? Why the hell shouldn't the biggest brands in Australia sponsor a disabled athlete instead of the world No. 1 in the men's or women's, everybody? Why not?’”

Wheelchair tennis had been integrated into all four Grand Slams for seven years before Alcott made the switch from wheelchair basketball back to tennis and played in his first Australian quad division draw in 2014.

The following year, in 2015, he won the first of his seven successive Australian Open titles and in 2017 the Australian Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to schedule a wheelchair tennis final on its centre court, when the Rod Laver Arena hosted Alcott’s quad singles final against Andy Lapthorne.

“The first round at my first Australian Open in 2014 - January 23 - legit, there were five people there… five; my dad, mom, brother, couple of mates, and some people got lost and accidentally walked past. Legit, not exaggerating,” he said.

“Now, as full as humanly possible Rod Laver, Channel 9 held the news, it was the biggest show in town with Nick (Kyrgios) and Thanasi (Kokkinakis) and Ash (Barty) today.”

As Alcott says, it’s not all about him. Prior to his return to tennis in 2014, Esther Vergeer also transcended the sport. Looking to the future, he points to players whose rise to prominence have spanned either side of his comeback to tennis in 2014.

“I'm done, time for someone else to take the reins. And it's hard to take the reins when everybody is talking about one person,” he said. “Just how it is. Well, I'm out of here. I hold the limelight and I don't want to.

“There's already people doing it. Niels (Vink) and Sam, for sure. I do love Niels. Shingo (Kuneida) - somehow he's still playing. He's won about 4,000 Grand Slams. And Diede de Groot. This week (in training) we had the Golden Slam hit-off, it was so nice. She's a legend and young enough and stuff like that. You don't need me. I'm washed up.

“Everyone that comes to wheelchair tennis is so surprised at how good we are. I'm like, ‘What did you expect?’ added Alcott.” Two absolute washed-up losers hitting the ball? There’s genuine surprise at how talented and entertaining it is. I was like, ‘a million people watch us on TV, because everyone that comes loves it’. Guess what happened today… a million people watched it on TV.”

Official viewing figures confirmed that Alcott and Schroder’s quad singles final on Rod Laver Arena was watched by a peak of 1.447m viewers.

“And it's not going to stop happening whatever I do next, I'm going to make sure it keeps happening,” said Alcott, who ended his career with 23 Grand Slam titles – 15 in singles and eight in doubles.

“I did the easy part, which is being me. It's the Australian Open, the broadcasters, the sponsors, the journos, and most importantly the people that get behind it is the reason it's happened. Not me.

While a large part of Alcott’s efforts to raise the profile of wheelchair tennis have been done off the court – and they are efforts for which he is, arguably, most proud - they would not have been so possible if it had not been for his success on the court. Asked about his career highlights, unsurprisingly he mentions the Golden Slam.

“Performance-wise, probably the Golden Slam, but it's still that representation of people with disability that come to watch,” he said. “I mean that as well. It's just like they are just there watching someone like them. That's just normal. And the mainstreaming of it is probably the thing that I'm most proud about.”

With wheelchair tennis sharing the stage with the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Ash Barty at the Grand Slams, Alcott is confident that the momentum in raising the profile of the sport will continue and the sport is in a good place, but he thinks more can be done.

“I think it's in the best position it's ever been and it's time for other people to take over, which I'm sure they will do,” said Alcott. “I'm interested to see what happens. I'll always help, but I just don't want to play anymore. It's just a hard slog and you get diminishing effects in anything you do. You win the first Wimbledon, it's incredible, the second one amazing, third one, you're like, ‘Oh, I've won Wimbledon’, you know? It's time for other people to experience that.

“Today I think I'm in locker 61 and Rafa is in 63,” Alcott, the winner of 43 singles titles and 30 doubles titles on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, continued.

“He's like, ‘G'day, Dyl’. I'm like, ‘G'day, Rafa. How are you, mate?’ ‘Yeah, good, bro.’

“Like that's how we talk. No other sport has that. We have the best Paralympic sport in the world because of the integration with the able-bodied tour. It's unbelievable. And we do a poor job of leveraging that all year. People internally sometimes don't do as good a job to understand how good the product is.

“When we go to fight for us more, to put us on the main court and not think we're lucky to be here, because we're not lucky to be here,” said Alcott. “We deserve to be here. That's the difference. People think we're lucky to be here; get stuffed. We deserve to be here. We're selling tickets, sponsors are making money and people are loving it. So start thinking like that and then it will all change. That's what I was lucky enough to do.”