The Open Era
Australia · born Mount Isa, Queensland, 1972 · right-handed · three times 's-Hertogenbosch champion and twice Wimbledon finalist
All playersBack to the rankings
2
Wimbledon singles finals, 2000 and 2001
3
Straight 's-Hertogenbosch titles, 1998 to 2000
4
Grass-court singles titles, the first at Manchester in 1994
No. 1
World ranking, reached on 26 July 1999
2
US Open titles, 1997 and 1998
Patrick Rafter was born in Mount Isa, Queensland, in 1972 and turned professional in 1991. A serve-and-volley player, he won his first tour-level match at Wimbledon in 1993 and his first title on grass in Manchester in 1994, which stayed his only title until 1997.
His breakthrough came in 1997: a French Open semi-final and then the US Open title, which he defended in 1998 by beating Mark Philippoussis in the final. In 1998 he also won the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters. In 1999 he won the Australian Open doubles with Jonas Björkman and reached No. 1 in the world on 26 July, the first Australian man at the top since John Newcombe. Shoulder trouble ended that season and led to surgery.
He came back to reach the Wimbledon final in 2000 and 2001, losing to Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanišević. He played no tour matches in 2002 and announced his retirement in January 2003, with 11 singles and 10 doubles titles. He was Australian of the Year in 2002, captained Australia's Davis Cup team from 2010 to 2015 and entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.
| 's-Hertogenbosch | 1998: beat Martin Damm 7-6, 6-2. 1999: beat Andrei Pavel 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. 2000: beat Nicolas Escudé 6-1, 6-3 |
|---|---|
| Manchester 1994 | First tour title, beating Wayne Ferreira 7-6, 7-6 in the final |
| Wimbledon semi-finals against Agassi | 1999: lost in straight sets. 2000: won 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. 2001: won 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 |
| Wimbledon finals | 2000: won the first set against Pete Sampras and led 4-1 in the second-set tie-break, then lost 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 2-6. 2001: lost to the wild card Goran Ivanišević 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-9 on the third Monday, after rain |
| Queen's doubles | 1997: won with Mark Philippoussis, who also won the singles that year. 1998: with Jonas Björkman, shared the title with Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde after the final was rained off |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
| 1999 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
| 2000 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1997 | Men's doubles | with Mark Philippoussis |
| 1998 | Men's doubles‡ | with Jonas Björkman |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1994 | Men's singles Manchester Open | |
| Halle | ||
| 1999 | Men's doubles | with Jonas Björkman |
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
"But gee, the selfish part of me wants that Wimbledon trophy. That would have been great to have."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 2001 · People's Monday
The Henman and Ivanišević semi-final ran over three days, pushing the final to the Monday. The Club released 10,000 unreserved Centre Court seats, and the crowd chanted throughout, like a football or rugby crowd. Rafter lost 9-7 in the fifth; for about five years afterwards, he said, he had nightmares replaying the last game.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC); Tennis AustraliaWimbledon 2000 · Final
Rafter won the first set against Pete Sampras and led 4-1 in the second-set tie-break. He said afterwards that he "choked". Sampras won in four sets for his seventh Wimbledon title.
Source: Tennis AustraliaOn court
Rafter was known for apologising to his opponent with "Sorry, mate" when he had to catch his own service toss.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameBrisbane, 1998
He gave $600,000 of his 1997 and 1998 US Open prize money to the Mater Hospital Foundation in Brisbane for terminally ill children, which won him the ATP's Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 1998.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameMelbourne, 2014
Eleven years after retiring he played the Australian Open doubles with Lleyton Hewitt. They lost in the first round. "I didn't want to make an idiot of myself," he said.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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