Australia is home to remarkable tennis players, past and present. This Sport of Kings isn't as popular as it was in Rod Laver's day, but tennis centres around the country see brisk business. The best Australian tennis coaches nurture fresh talent, guiding their young players to their first tournament wins.
The tennis season will kick off in just a few months - the Open season, that is. That's when the best tennis players from around the world compete in tennis' most prestigious matches. Now, with the 2024 Open behind us, let's take a look at some of the best Australian tennis players on the circuit. While we're at it, we'll talk about legendary players of the past.
| 🎾 Player's name | 📆 Years active | 🥇 Career titles |
|---|---|---|
| Daphne Akhurst | 1924 - 1933 | 16 |
| Nancye Wynne Bolton | 1936 - 1952 | 20 |
| Thelma Coyne | 1936 - 1958 | 19 |
| Rod Laver | 1956 - 1979 | 47 |
| Ken Rosewall | 1956 - 1980 | 161 |
| Margaret Court | 1960 - 1977 | 192 |
| John Newcombe | 1967 - 1981 | 101 |
| Roy Emerson | 1968 - 1983 | 110 |
| Evonne Goolagong | 1970 - 1983 | 132 |
| Pat Cash | 1982 - 2006 | 18 |
| Lleyton Hewitt | 1998 - 2020 | 33 |
| Ajla Tomljanović | 2009 - present | 7 |
| Ashleigh Barty | 2010 - 2022 | 27 |
| Nick Kyrgios | 2013 - present | 11 |
| Alex de Minaur | 2015 - present | 10 |
Daphne Akhurst
Daphne enjoyed a stellar but far-too-short tennis career. She burst onto the competitive tennis circuit just shy of her 21st birthday, and won practically every contest. Wimbledon (1928) was her most stunning defeat. The grass courts weren't to blame, as that's the only surface she ever played on.
Daphne lost her life in 1933 to an ectopic pregnancy. She was 29 years old. Each year, since 1934, this trophy goes to the Australian Open Women's Singles winner.
Nancye Wynne Bolton
When Nancye ruled the courts, Women's Tennis was a barely-recognised sport, because the WTA didn't exist yet. Furthermore, she lost five years' worth of potential wins because of the Second World War. Those two factors hardly dented her success on the courts. She won every Australian Open she played in, whether Singles or Doubles.
Thelma Coyne Long
Thelma Coyne dominated tennis courts across Australia from 1935, her debut year, until she retired, some 23 years later. Even then, she didn't quit the sport. Starting in 1960, she began coaching up-and-coming players. In 1985, and again in 2000, she received recognition for her contributions to the sport.
In a sense, we could say that Thelma previewed Australia's tennis heyday, which lasted from the 1950s until around 1980. We needn't despair over Australian tennis greatness being gone for good, though. It appears the Aussie passion for tennis is cyclic; records from the early 1900s show a great many record-making Australian tennis players.
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Rod Laver
Rod is the top Australian tennis player, past or present. He has an arena and a tennis trophy that bear his name, proof of him being the best among Australian tennis stars. Around the world, many hail him as one of the best tennis players of all time.
Rod started his professional tennis career in 1963, after playing as an amateur for seven years. Two years before he went pro, he became the world's Number 1 tennis player. By that time, he held a career-high No. 3 ranking, according to the Association of Tennis Players (ATP) 1974 statistics.
Rod won two Grand Slams, meaning he won all four Open season majors. Those include the Australian Open, the French Open, the US Open and Wimbledon. In all, Rod claimed 200 singles titles and 28 doubles titles, making him Australia's top male tennis player to date.
Ken Rosewall
Ken and Rod Laver were tennis rivals. Ken started his amateur game in 1950 and turned professional in 1956, far earlier than Rod Laver did. The two being rivals speaks to Rod's on-court prowess. As the more mature player, Ken had ample time to set a few records for Rod to break.
Ken won eight singles Grand Slam titles and seven doubles titles. He amassed a total of 147 titles throughout his 30-year career.
Margaret Court
Margaret began playing tennis before women were accepted as tennis players. She ranks among the famous Aussie tennis players for racking up an impressive 64 Grand Slam titles. Her record 24 Singles Grand Slam titles stands unbroken. That was the record that Serena Williams aspired to break before she retired.
Margaret Court also formed an unbeatable duo with Ken Fletcher, claiming 10 major titles together, earning a reputation as one of tennis's greatest duos in history.
She also set several tennis records that stand unbroken today. Those include:
- 192 career Singles' titles
- 46 grass court Singles' titles
- 21 Singles' titles in one year
- 91.17% career Singles' win percentage (all surfaces)
John Newcombe
It seems we're living in the past, featuring all these retired Australian tennis players. Still, they're the ones today's up-and-coming players look up to and try to copy. As such, they could hardly do better than John Newsome for a source of inspiration.
John's list of title wins is shorter than Ken Rosewall's, but only until you study the players' win-loss records. John won a stunning 73% of his matches compared to 70% for Ken. But, John's record pales next to Rod Laver's impressive 75% win record.
Roy Emerson
Queensland-born Emerson embarked on the tennis amateur tour in 1953, turning pro 15 years later. He won his first tournament singles Grand Slam in 1961, defeating Rod Laver. That came two years after his first Wimbledon Doubles appearance in 1959 with partner Neale Fraser. That's when he earned his first title, a success he repeated later that year, at the US Open.
Evonne Goolagong
Evonne's tennis career paralleled Margaret's. They both started playing when they were very young; before the Women's Tennis Association gave female tennis players legitimacy.
Her phenomenal 1980 Wimbledon win, playing opposite of American Chris Evert, made her one of the hottest 80s tennis players. Though Evonne's list of wins is nowhere near as long as Margaret's - or Chris', she still retired with an impressive 86 career titles.
Pat Cash
Pat Cash was not one to make waves, he just wanted to play tennis. Unfortunately for him, he became a tennis sensation everywhere he played. His 1987 win over Ivan Lendl, considered one of the world's greatest-ever tennis champions, cemented Pat's reputation. Today, he ranks among the most famous Aussie tennis players, despite having retired nearly 20 years ago.
Some of our more recent professionals, such as Ashleigh Barty and Lleyton Hewitt, merit the 'greatest of our times' label. However, we're still searching for our next great tennis representative. Perhaps Australia's latest tennis sensation, Alexei Popyrin, will become a contender for the greatest tennis player of all time title, too.
Lleyton Hewitt
Statistics show that Australian tennis had its heyday from the mid-fifties to the mid-seventies. That's when great names like Rod Laver and Evonne Goolagong ruled the courts at home and around the world. Since then, the list of Australian Grand Slam winners is short, counting only Ash Barty and Samantha Stosur, Pat Cash, Patrick Rafter and Lleyton.
In fact, Lleyton Hewitt is one of Australia's most renowned players. He ranks among the top male tennis players 1990s, and was the youngest male to ever reach the Number 1 ATP ranking. He played in 20 consecutive Australian Opens, a record that stands unbroken.
Ajla Tomljanović
This Croatian-born tennis pro represents Australia. She reached her career-high ranking of 33 in Singles tennis in 2023. She's one of the top names among Australian female tennis players.
She won her first WTA title that year, and she claimed four singles titles and three doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit. However, injury continues to haunt Ajla. Still, she has great name recognition thanks to her win against Serena Williams in 2022.
Ashleigh Barty
For any young tennis player looking for inspiration, Ash Barty is the first name that comes to mind. She was torn between cricket and tennis, ultimately choosing to make her mark on the court. This she did with gusto, snagging her famous Wimbledon win just 10 years after she started training.
At the height of her career and the peak of her powers, Ashleigh retired. Her announcement came two months after her Wimbledon win, when she ranked #1 in the world. She stated that she had accomplished all she intended to in tennis and that it was time to move on.
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Nick Kyrgios
Nick is one of today's most controversial tennis players. He's come right out and said that he "does not love tennis". His on-court tantrums are so dramatic that the original tennis bad boy, John McEnroe, has accused him of unsportsmanlike conduct.
But, Nick is highly watchable, and he has the talent to play. He's climbed as high as #13 in the ranks, a solid place to be, that early in a playing career. He's in a position male tennis players across Australia envy. Unfortunately, injury (and indecision about the sport) has kept him off the tennis circuits.
Alex de Minaur
Tennis fans may have lost out on Nick, but they still have Alex to fawn over. This young player has yet to pick up a Grand Slam, but he's achieved a 62% Singles' career win rate - so far. He played his first Australian Open in 2016, as a wildcard draw.
He lost in the first round, but got a taste for competition. He may have a way to go to refine his style. And, we have much to look forward to from this young, talented player.
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