AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2022

Dylan Alcott

Press Conference

DYLAN ALCOTT: I'm so cooked (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: Dylan, absolutely congratulations on a well-deserved honor. Talk us through it.

DYLAN ALCOTT: I feel like it's Groundhog Day. I was just in this room talking about my semifinal win. I pretty much am out here again.

This one's really hit me in the heart. Like honestly I didn't think I was going to win. Just everybody nominated, just amazing people. But from someone who just absolutely 100% hated himself as a kid, hated my disability, I was embarrassed. If you could tell 14-year-old Dylan he was Australian of the Year, wouldn't believe it for a second.

Yeah, I mean, emotionally I'm a full 10 out of 10. Physically I'm a 2 out of 10. I am wrecked. I wouldn't want it any other way. That's how I always live my life.

I'm here because of my family and friends and my team, Tennis Australia, the media, the Australian public who have supported me. But also so many people with disability that came before me that knocked down these barriers so I can be who I am. Athletes, like I mentioned, Louise Sauvage, Kurt Fearnley, Danni Di Toro, and advocates like Stella Young. People who I saw for the first time. They should have been Australian of the Year as well.

Yeah, look at me. I'm just shocked but also pretty humbled and grateful I guess for the support.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You've always spoken about the value of the platform. There's obviously no bigger platform in Australia than being Australian of the Year. What is the first cab off the rank for you that you want to change?

DYLAN ALCOTT: My first cab off the rank is to win the Australian Open, to be honest, which is tomorrow.

Look, people are like, How are you going to go about it? What are you going to do? I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm just going to be me. I have no idea how to do this. I've never been Australian of the Year before. What do you do? You just got to keep being yourself, stand up for things you believe in, right?

My purpose in life is to change perceptions so people with disabilities can live the lives they deserve to live, do whatever they want to do. There's so many things we can do to make sure they get those opportunities, right? People with disability are ready to go. It's you, non-disabled people, who need to start changing your unconscious biases and leave the negative stigmas in the past, and start lifting expectations so we can be the people we want to be.

To do that, as I said, we got to fully guarantee and fund the NDIS. We invest in people with disabilities so they can be the people they want to be, and start paying taxes, not get pensions.

How good that we are opening up, the best thing ever. Imagine if opening up meant you might die because if you were to contract COVID because you're immunocompromised. That's scary, yeah? If we've got to give you, your family, your support workers a daily rapid test for free so you feel comfortable living, let's do it. Anybody think that's a bad idea? I don't think so.

Employment opportunities need to rise. Participation with people with disabilities in the workforce, 54% out of the four and a half million people with disability. Hasn't moved in 30 years. I'm 31. We are getting better, but those things haven't changed. Yeah, let's do it all at once. I'm ready to go. I don't care. I'm happy to talk to anybody.

But it's not my voice. We need to amplify all voices of people with disabilities. The lived experience is the way that you learn. They're ready to go. There are so many people out there ready to talk. We got to hear from everyone, not just me.

Q. You saw the ramp and thought, I might be on. When you say about non-disabled people coming to the party, you love life probably more than anyone, does it make you angry that access is still an issue, there's restaurants in Melbourne you can't go to, all that sort of stuff?

DYLAN ALCOTT: (Indiscernible) angry. But yeah, it's upsetting. It hurts.

Funny thing about the ramp, right? Ramp was there, I go, I might be on here. Then there was someone nominated for Senior Australian of the Year and they also had a disability. I go, Oh, crap, it might be them. But then they didn't win, unfortunately for them. I was like, Ooh, I'm back on. So I thought I better do a little speech.

But if a person with a disability wasn't going to win, there wasn't going to be a ramp. There should always be a ramp, always. Just put it there. You can walk up the ramp, too, can't you? So can I. Let's just have the ramp rather than stairs. That's the lesson there when it's done well.

First and foremost, we've got to fund people with disability, get them healthcare, but also make things accessible. It's easy to do. It helps all of us, but people sometimes can't be bothered, right? That's the difference between making your life easier but my life possible. That's the big difference.

For me moving forward, has to be started at the forefront of all our minds. It's getting better. I'm not here to complain. It is getting better. Hopefully we can all do it quicker so we can all start living our lives together. Not just live, but thrive, get opportunities to be the people we want to be.

Q. Ability Fest was such a huge success. A lot of people that went there made the point, they didn't even notice the changes that were made. Is it so much easier to accommodate than people realize?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Yeah, for sure. I think people didn't realize the changes we made because we made so much money on the bar, to be honest. It was a sunny day in Melbourne, it was going off. If you didn't come, come next year.

I'll give you an example. When you go to a supermarket, when you walk in, what are they? Automatic doors. Again, that's to make an everyday person's life easier so they don't have to open it. You didn't even notice that's actually for us, did you? That's for us.

What about Siri on your phone? That just makes your life easier, yeah? If you're blind, that makes your phone possible. You probably didn't know that either, did you? They're actually made for people with disability.

When done properly, you don't even notice. That's the way it should be done. Universal design is here to stay.

At Ability Fest, it was just a sick music festival, first and foremost, like Coachella, like Beyond the Valley, like Falls. We just have added accessibility features so everybody could come and have a good time.

We've got to improve too. I'm always learning. I'm going to make huge mistakes. I don't know anything about disability. I'm not the 'Disability Dalai Lama'. I just know what I know, which is being me, try to be authentically me and talk about what I'm passionate about.

This means a lot to me because I didn't win this for winning gold medals and Grand Slams. It might have helped for sure. But it's not why. I barely talked about tennis last night because it's not my purpose. That's why I'm an emotional wreck, to be honest. Listen to my voice.

It's pretty special. I hope I do everyone proud, especially my friends and people from my community.

Q. Did you have a chat with Grace last night?

DYLAN ALCOTT: A thousand percent. Tame is a weapon. I just said, like, Congratulations on one, if not the best, year of Australian of the Year. I told her to have a holiday and look after herself as well. Some of the stuff she's copped online, no one deserves that. If I can be one-eighth the Australian of the Year she is, I'll be doing my job.

People ask me, Are you going to be like Grace Tame? I'm like Tamie is Tamie and I am myself. I'm just going to be me. I have no idea how I'm going to go about this. I'm just going to be me. I don't want to be anybody else, right? Neither does she. I love that. I think it's cool.

Congratulations again to her. Literally go to Byron for 12 months and have a holiday. You deserve every second of it.

Q. You mentioned your 14-year-old self. Have you had any messages from young people, 14-year-olds with a disability?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Heaps. I don't know if you saw the video last night they played before I won. Young wheelchair tennis players, people that Dylan Alcott Fund actually supported. What they said about me, like I'm a super hero. I was like crying. It stuffs me up. Like it just hits me. That's what it's about, yeah?

The amount of kids with disability I've seen this week watching wheelchair tennis. A young woman called Hannah, put up a tweet -- I put it on Instagram -- said, If you told young Hannah when she was 14 there are going to be two people that look like her on TV doing what they love in prime time, she would never have believed you. But she was watching with her family. That's what it's all about.

(Indiscernible) the Australian Open's back. It's not about that for me. I'll keep them actually. You know what I mean, it's not about that. It's special for sure.

Yeah, I get lost. I don't get lost for words often, do I? I don't do it on purpose. I'm not trying to be a role model. I didn't go out there to do any of this stuff. I'm just being me. It's because everybody else has bought into the ethos and what I'm about. I do the easy part, which is being me. I play a small part in it. Everybody else amplifies this.

When you amplify more people with disability in all industries so there are more role models, but more just people living normal lives that are showcased to show anybody can live and deserve to live a normal life.

Q. You mentioned Louise and Kurt Fearnley. I think he tweeted this morning...

DYLAN ALCOTT: One minute after I won got a text saying, Well deserved, brother. You are going to nail this. Congratulations on Australian of the Year. One minute after he goes, Cheers, but I'm Kurt.

Q. Have you spoken to him?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Yeah, he texted me straightaway. Look, he's been my biggest advocate to get this award. He's a king. I thought he should have won it, but he didn't, though everybody deserves to win it, whoever does.

Like, you know, I learned a lot from him. So many people with disabilities. The best is when people combine us. I say to him, Kurt, I love that you crawled Kokoda but congratulations on Wimbledon and I love your work.

He is like, It's actually really weird.

I get it all the time. I go to the tennis. I it from the security guard the other day. Good to see you, Kurt. We're at the Australian Open, c'mon. Yeah, good man to be mistaken for. He's a king.

Yeah, he got a few beers and a tear he said, which is beautiful. Hope I make him proud, for sure.

Q. You still have prime time tomorrow on Rod Laver. Craig wants to get as many eyeballs on the TV, more than ever. Talk to that.

DYLAN ALCOTT: Shit, I got to play tennis tomorrow, don't I? Forgot about that.

No, it's the last dance, baby, win, lose or draw. I mean, I want to win, but I will live if I don't win. I'm still the luckiest guy in the world if I don't win.

Ash will be on Rod tomorrow. I'm assuming Thanasi and Nick are on Rod tomorrow. I got no idea.

Q. Before you.

DYLAN ALCOTT: What a triple-header? Are you serious?

Q. Yes.

DYLAN ALCOTT: Well, no excuse not to watch that unless you hate tennis or hate me. Go for it.

Going to be live on TV, Wide World of Sports, Eurosport, ESPN, absolutely everywhere.

All good. I promise you I'm going to give it a right old crack. Dylan, enjoy it because you're never going to get it again. I love John Farnham, but I'm not the going to be the wheelchair John Farnham and come back. I promise this is it. This is a hundred percent it.

In 20 minutes when I'm done with press, please leave me alone so I can win the Australian Open.

Q. Private jets, nights out, preparation like no other. I think I know the answer, but have you ever been as fried ahead of a huge tennis match?

DYLAN ALCOTT: I'm a glutton for punishment. I work 16-hour days on TV and try and win the Australian Open. I won 2018 Australian Open on drip every night in hospital with a blood infection. That was pretty gnarly.

But, no, I am probably more fried right now.

Q. How do yu get up?

DYLAN ALCOTT: I'm playing the Australian Open for the last time in my home city, trying to win an eighth Australian Open. I'll get up. Don't worry about that.

But, yeah, I'm the luckiest guy in the world for what I'm going to get to do tomorrow. When you are grateful for those opportunities, you find energy sources you don't realize you have. I'm hoping that happens tomorrow. Hope my voice sounds a bit better. I sound like I've had a bender, but I haven't, I promise (smiling).

I'm so excited to go out on a high. That doesn't mean winning. That means it's still going to be a high. I'm really excited. I really am. Come down and check it out.

Q. We've been talking about this for a few weeks now, but if I was to ask you to put one thing at the very top that you've achieved or have received as an acknowledgment, what would that be?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Hmm. Look, I don't get too big into awards and stuff. It's not the reason I get out of bed. I think the thing that meant the most to me probably in my career was the first time we played on Rod Laver, first Grand Slam final on a center court of a wheelchair tennis match. I reckon there were 500 kids in wheelchairs there. That absolutely was everything to me. That's better than this, it's better than anything.

I also became an AO today. Dylan Alcott, AO. That's ridiculous. I got an OAM for services to sport when I won gold in '18 and I felt like an idiot. There were people there that saved the eyesight of like three thousand people. I was like, Why do I deserve this?

But to be an AO now for services to my community, people with disability, that's pretty special. That stuff far outweighs any gold medal, Grand Slam, or award. It's the recognition for that stuff.

But if I didn't win... So we did a press conference pretty much 24 hours ago. I'm the same Dylan, mate. This doesn't make me any different. Never will. 100% will be the same guy forever. But I am very grateful for it.

But that's not why I'm here. Yeah, it is very special. I'll put it right next to my Logie. Guess what, everybody walks into my house. Wimbledon? Australian Open. Logie. Oh, my God, it's a Logie. I don't know why everybody loves the Logie so much, but it will be up there for sure.