The Open Era
South Africa · born Johannesburg, 1965 · right-handed · Newport champion 1990 and world No. 1 in doubles
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1
ATP singles title, Newport 1990, his first as a professional
171
His singles ranking going into Newport
No. 1
Doubles ranking, reached on 23 July 1990
2
Grand Slam doubles titles with Danie Visser, Australian Open and US Open 1990
3
Tie-breaks in the 1990 Wimbledon doubles final, all lost
Pieter Aldrich was born in Johannesburg in 1965 and turned professional in 1987. In singles he reached a career-high No. 64 in November 1988, but his career was built in doubles with his compatriot Danie Visser.
Aldrich won the first of his nine tour doubles titles in Charleston in 1988. In 1990 he and Visser won the Australian Open and the US Open and reached the Wimbledon final, and on 23 July 1990 Aldrich became the world No. 1 in doubles. A week earlier, unseeded and ranked 171st, he had won his only singles title on the grass at Newport. His last doubles title came in Johannesburg in 1992.
| Newport 1990 | Unseeded, beat Darren Cahill, ranked 86th, 7-6, 1-6, 6-1 in the final, winning the first-set tie-break 12-10. The prize was $21,600 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon doubles final 1990 | Second seeds with Danie Visser; lost to the top seeds Rick Leach and Jim Pugh 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, every set to a tie-break |
| Queen's doubles final 1988 | With Danie Visser, lost to Ken Flach and Robert Seguso 6-2, 7-6 |
| Johannesburg 1989 | Won the singles at the Challenger on grass, beating Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-3, and the doubles with Visser |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
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
"I came to Newport to try and relax and have fun, to have a vacation week"
The person behind the player.
Newport, July 1990
Aldrich, then living in Palm Desert, California, said he had come to Newport for a vacation week. He left with his first professional title, beating Darren Cahill in the final, and with $21,600. "Maybe I'll go on vacation all the time," he said.
Source: United Press InternationalNewport, July 1990
The first set went to a 12-10 tie-break. "The longer a tiebreaker goes the more important it is to win it," Aldrich said. "It's demoralizing if you lose it." Cahill took the second set 6-1, then admitted: "In the third set, I didn't make him play enough balls."
Source: United Press InternationalWimbledon 1990
Aldrich and Visser, the second seeds, met the top seeds Rick Leach and Jim Pugh in the doubles final on Centre Court. Every set went to a tie-break, and Leach and Pugh won all three, 7-5, 7-4, 7-5.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)July 1990
Eight days after the Newport final, on 23 July 1990, Aldrich reached No. 1 in the doubles rankings. With Visser he had already won the Australian Open that year, and in September they added the US Open, beating Paul Annacone and David Wheaton in the final.
Source: ATP Tour; WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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