This may very well be the only time we ever see Wamba-Wamba artist Ron Murray’s wooden carving of a Wombat awarded to a singles tournament winner in Australia, given the Yarra Valley Classic will probably be a once in a pandemic kind of event, and if you ask me, it’d be a damn shame, because how often do you get trophies of wombats on chopping boards in any sport:

Perhaps the best part of it all was that a trophy designed by a First Nation’s person was won by a First Nation’s person in Ash Barty.

In all, it’s the most successful immersion of a wombat with Australian sport since Fatso The Fat-Arsed Wombat at the Sydney Olympics:

If you ask me, more Western countries hosting ATP and WTA tournaments should have a go at creating some unique cultural displays on trophies instead of boring McTrophies.

The Poms could award something like a wooden Spotted Dick for winning Queen’s or Eastbourne, the Yanks could award a ceramic bucket of fried chicken for the winner of Indian Wells, the Canadians could award a minature hockey stick and puck for the winner of Toronto/Montreal, and the Monte Carlo Country Club could recognise Monaco’s culture and award a little roulette wheel to Rafael Nadal when he inevitably wins the Monte Carlo Masters.