Pat Rafter
Patrick Michael Rafter , was born in MT Isa, Queensland on the 28th December 1972.
Pat’s interests away from the tennis court are surfing, golf and spending time with the family at the beach. Pat’s favourite rugby league team is the Brisbane Broncos and he supports the Brisbane lions in Aussie rules.
Career and achievements
In 1991, Pat turned pro.
In 1993, he was named the ATP newcomer of the year.
In 1997, he received a diploma of honour by the international committee of fair play, for gesture of fair play. During a 1997 tournament in Adelaide he reversed a line call in a second set tie break to virtually hand the match to his opponent.
Pat won his first us open grand slam and became the first Aussie to win this open since john newcomer in 1973.
Pat was awarded the ATP most improved player of the year award and the Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award. He also received the Australian sports personality of the year award in 1997 and the media sports personality of the year award.
In 1998, he defended his title by winning the US open, becoming the first Australian to win back to back US titles since Neale Fraser in 1959-1960.
Pat was awarded ATP Arthur Ashe humanitarian award and the Queensland young achiever award.
He was also awarded the honorary ambassador for Queensland and was presented with the keys to the city of Brisbane.
The Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award was again awarded to Pat in 1998, 2000, and 2001.
In 1999, Pat won the Australian open doubles title with Jonas Bjorkman.
On July 26 1999, Pat became the first Aussie to reach No 1 since John Newcombe.
He received the Australian people’s choice award for male sport star two years in a row being 1998 and 1999.
The Patrick Rafter Cherish the children foundation was officially launched in February 1999, when Pat donated his open earnings.
In 2000, Pat won “the bill brown community award.”- in recognition of sporting achievements and services to the community.
In 2000 and 2001, Pat was a finalist at Wimbledon. Pat retired from tennis at the end of 2001.
In 2002, Pat was named Australian of the year, and was inducted into the international tennis hall of fame and the sport Australia hall of fame in 2006.
Since retiring from professional tennis Pat now enjoys spending time with his family. He still enjoys playing tennis, surfing and maintaining his fitness, he also makes himself available for his charity, Cherish the Children Foundation, and other similar community causes.
Pat was appointed as the captain of the Australian Davis cup team in 2011.
