The honour aims to recognise the performances, achievements and contributions of athletes and officials, marking their service to tennis in Australia.

Named after John Newcombe, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles and 17 doubles titles in his career, the award is in its fifth year.

Newcombe presented Alcott with the medal at the Tennis Australia gala celebration at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne.

"It’s amazing to be given this award in honour of Newk, who’s such a tennis legend, someone that I looked up to when I was young, watching videos of him play," said Alcott.

"I’m not going to lie, I really wanted to win this award.

"Because we have an Athlete with a Disability category, which is a huge honour, but I see myself as an elite athlete first and foremost who just happens to have a disability and uses a wheelchair to play.

"To be recognised for the highest honour, Newk, it means so much to me, this award absolutely smashes that glass ceiling for elite athletes with a disability."

Alcott has enjoyed a superb year on the court, with the quad singles number one successfully defending his Australian Open title in January.

He would also earn double Paralympic gold in Rio de Janeiro by triumphing in the singles competition, having already won the doubles event with Heath Davidson.

The duo had already combined to win the World Team Cup in Tokyo earlier in the year, while Alcott secured singles titles in Brisbane, Sydney, South Africa, Japan, France and Britain during 2016.

Alcott saw off the challenge of Daria Gavrilova, John Millman, Jordan Thompson and John Peers for the award.

He joins Sam Groth, Nick Kyrgios, Lleyton Hewitt and three-time winner Sam Stosur as a recipient of the honour.

It is the latest award to be given to Alcott in recent months, having been named as Australian Paralympian of the Year and GQ Magazine Sportsman of the Year.