The Open Era
Australia · born Adelaide, 1965 · left-handed · six times Wimbledon doubles champion
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6
Wimbledon doubles titles with Todd Woodbridge
5
Wimbledon doubles titles in a row, 1993 to 1997
4
Queen's Club doubles titles
1
Wimbledon mixed title, 1993, with Navratilova
17
Major titles in doubles and mixed
Born in Adelaide in 1965, Woodforde turned professional in 1984 and won four singles titles, reaching No. 19 in 1996, the year he made the Australian Open semi-finals at his 38th major. His first major doubles title came at the 1989 US Open with John McEnroe. From 1990 he partnered Todd Woodbridge; as the Woodies they won 61 titles and 11 majors, completing the set at the 2000 French Open, and took Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 and silver in Sydney in 2000. He reached No. 1 in doubles in 1992, won 17 major titles in doubles and mixed, and helped Australia win the 1999 Davis Cup. He retired in 2000, later coached Australia's Fed Cup team and commentated, and entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010.
| Wimbledon doubles | Champion 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2000 with Todd Woodbridge; runner-up 1998 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed | 1993 with Martina Navratilova, beat Manon Bollegraf and Tom Nijssen 6-3, 6-4 |
| Finals to remember | 1993: beat Grant Connell and Patrick Galbraith 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 for the first title. 1998: lost to Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis 6-2, 4-6, 6-7, 7-5, 8-10. 2000: beat Haarhuis and Sandon Stolle 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 |
| Queen's Club doubles | Champion 1991, 1993, 1996 and 2000 with Woodbridge; runner-up 1994 and 1999 |
| Wimbledon singles | Fourth round in 1988, 1990 and 1997 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 1993 | Mixed doubles | with Martina Navratilova |
| 1994 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 1995 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 1996 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 1997 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 2000 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1991 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 1993 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 1996 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
| 2000 | Men's doubles | with Todd Woodbridge |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"The real strength of the Woodies is that they have no weaknesses."
The person behind the player.
US Open 1989
After Woodforde beat John McEnroe twice in two weeks, he asked to play doubles with him. McEnroe asked whether two wins made him good enough, then agreed: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." They won the 1989 US Open. When McEnroe stepped away in 1990 he advised Woodforde to find a younger right-handed Australian.
Source: Sports IllustratedBrussels 1991
In the final of the Donnay Indoor event, the Woodies' first title match, Woodbridge kept fretting at the changeovers. Woodforde told him to be quiet, stay relaxed and keep playing normally, since their opponents were arguing with each other. They won the set 6-0 and the title.
Source: Sports IllustratedWimbledon 1993
When Martina Navratilova rang to ask him to play mixed, Woodforde thought it was a prank until she said Neale Fraser had given her the number. She later pulled up beside him in Wimbledon Village in a Porsche. In the final he went 0-40 down in his first service game; she tapped him on the back, and they won 6-3, 6-4.
Source: Tennis.comRoland Garros 2000
Level on 57 titles with John McEnroe and Peter Fleming, and with Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan, the Woodies needed one more for the record. Woodforde told McEnroe that one more title and "you're off the book". McEnroe replied that he hoped they would not do it in Paris. They won the French Open final, then Wimbledon a month later.
Source: The Globe and MailSydney 2000
Their last match together was the Olympic final at home in Sydney, lost to Sébastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor in a fourth-set tiebreak. Woodbridge said he had not been emotional all year. Woodforde admitted he had shed tears in the locker room after the French Open win.
Source: The Irish TimesNewport 2010
Speaking from his home in Rancho Mirage, California, after the Hall of Fame vote, Woodforde called the induction "a bookend to our career" and said he was a little embarrassed by it too. He used the moment to praise the Bryan brothers for carrying the doubles game.
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