Odd record: Pat Rafter was the world's No.1 tennis player for just one week in 1999

Pat Rafter is considered one of Australia's best-ever male tennis players.

Rafter won two grand slam titles, and an Australian Open men's doubles title during a more than decade-long professional career, which saw him ranked world No. 1 men's player for just one week – an odd record that still stands today.

Now, more than 20 years after he retired from the sport that made him a household name to live a quiet life with his wife of two decades, Lara, he found himself back on centre court at the home of the Australian Open, Melbourne Park, not once, but twice this week, all in the name of fun.

Born to 'serve'

Patrick Michael Rafter was born in the mining town of Mount Isa, Queensland, on December 28, 1972.

According to the ABC, his parents, Jim and Jocelyn had moved there in the late 60s after his father got a job as an accountant in the mines.

Rafter, who was one of 10 children, including a brother who was stillborn, first picked up a tennis racquet when he was five.

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He honed his skills on the burning hot bitumen courts that were a couple of hundred metres from his family's modest home and later played in the local tennis competition his father helped sponsor.

According to the ABC, Rafter, like his older siblings, left Mount Isa to attend high school.

He went to Albany State High School in Brisbane. In 2022, the school posted a photo on its Facebook page of Rafter with other students who were part of the 1988 tennis squad.

Courting success

He was 19 when he turned pro in 1991.

Within two years, Rafter had won his first tour-level match at Wimbledon before losing to Andre Agassi in the third round of the competition.

That year, he defeated Pete Sampras in the quarter finals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships before succumbing to Boris Becker in the semis, but finished 1993 with a world ranking of 66.

He won his first career singles title in 1994.

But his career breakthrough came in 1997 when he reached the semi-finals of the French Open before going on to win that year's US Open, when he defeated Greg Rusedski to nab his first Grand Slam title.

That year, he locked in a No. 2 world ranking.

Only months later, he won his second US Open after defeating fellow Aussie Mark Philippoussis in the final.

In 1999, Rafter partnered with Jonas Björkman to win the Australian Open men's doubles title.

He made it to the semis at Wimbledon, but lost to Andre Agassi.

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That year also saw him secure the world No. 1 spot, albeit briefly.

He held the title for just one week, from July 26, 1999, to August 1, 1999, making it the shortest stint in history, in part because he did not play that week.

He underwent shoulder surgery later that year but during his recovery, slipped to 21st in the rankings.

He made it back onto the court and the Wimbledon finals, but lost to Pete Sampras.

Unfortunately, history was set to repeat itself as he reached the finals of Wimbledon once more before losing to Goran Ivanišević.

That year, he won the Davis Cup singles title but did not play in any tour matches in 2002 while recovering from injuries.

Retirement

Rafter announced his retirement in January 2003, when he was 30.

While his injuries had taken their toll, he said at the time he had simply lost the motivation to play tennis at the top level.

After his retirement, he was named 2002 Australian of the Year, and Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane was renamed Pat Rafter Arena in his honour.

In 2009, he was named a Queensland "sports legend."

Rafter returned to the sport in 2004 to play doubles in the Australian Open and AAPT Championship and defeated Stefan Edberg at the 2009 AEGON Masters Tennis tournament.

He partnered with another legend, Lleyton Hewitt, to play doubles at the 2014 Australian Open.

He has been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Sport Australia Hall of Fame and Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.

Family life

Just as Rafter's career was taking off, he started dating model Lara Feltham.

The two reportedly met in 1997 at a Sydney charity event in support of the Starlight Children's Foundation.

They welcomed their first child, son Joshua, in 2002 and reportedly became engaged the same year.

The couple married in a secret ceremony in Fiji two years later, having told waiting reporters at Sydney Airport who suspected a wedding was in the works that they were jetting off on a family holiday.

The couple added to their family with the birth of their daughter India in 2005.

Net worth and prize money

Rafter won $17.8 million in prize money during his career but also earned money from endorsements.

He was an ambassador for Bonds, first joining the brand in 2002 for a reported $150,000 a year. He famously took a pay cut in 2009 after Bonds announced it was laying off 1850 workers.

In 2012, he told media outlets he was planning to stop modelling underwear as it was becoming harder to stay in shape as he neared 40.

He ended his run with a tongue in cheek TV advertising campaign that saw him agree to strip off one last time if the cast and crew joined him in their Bonds.

But after hanging up his jocks, he continued as a brand ambassador and was even the face of the Bonds Baby Search for many years.

Rafter and his wife also found other ways to make money, including property. He has owned a number of homes and investment properties in Queensland and NSW.

In 2006, the couple paid $9.5 million for a property in Sunshine Beach on Queensland's Sunshine Coast where they built a new home.

They sold it for $15.2 million in January 2018 – less than the original $18 million asking price, with Rafter claiming he lost money on the deal.

Next, they bought 28 hectares of land for $1.35 million in Broken Head, near Byron Bay, NSW, close to where Chris Hemsworth later built his home.

The Rafters reportedly spent $1.5 million building a sprawling dream home with a state-of-the-art full-size tennis court and a 'clubhouse', and it is thought to now be worth many millions of dollars.

What does Pat Rafter do now?

Rafter and Lara continue to live at the property although their children have reportedly moved out.

He told Newscorp in 2025 he spends much of his time planting trees on the property to restore it to its former glory and to entice native wildlife such as echidnas, bandicoots and swamp wallabies back to the property.

The family has stayed largely out of the spotlight but were photographed in November 2024 at the Queensland Sport Awards when Rafter was named a legend of the sport of tennis.

He is also a big supporter of charities. He was pictured wearing a singlet, wig and hat to slide down the Big Freeze 10 waterslide before the 2024 AFL Round 13 match between Collingwood and Melbourne Demons in Melbourne.

Over the past couple of years he has taken part in a number of exhibition matches, including at the Brisbane International.

2026 Australian Open

Rafter joined forces with Lleyton Hewitt for an exhibition doubles match on January 17 during the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Australian Open.

The former doubles partners faced off against his former foes Roger Federer and Andre Agassi for the match before a surprise guest took to the court at Rod Laver Arena.

After two sets and with the game drawn at one set each, Aussie Ash Barty came on court to replace Agassi, before she helped snatch victory from her fellow Aussies.

It was the second time in a week that Rafter had appeared on centre court, with the former tennis great also appearing in an ad in which he played a real estate agent trying to 'sell' the Australian Open.

Despite looking so comfortable back on court, Rafter made a surprising revelation about the sport that same week.

During an appearance on Triple M's Mick in the Morning, Rafter, 53, was asked whether he hits the court much since retiring.

"Swimmers, in particular. when they retire, they won't go near a pool," host Mick Molloy began.

''With tennis, was it a while before you got back on the court or do you still love playing every day?"

"Well… it's not my favourite sport to play," Rafter replied, adding he preferred paddle tennis.

"It's like a cross between squash and tennis. That's what I play and look forward to," he said.

"We have a tennis court at home and my wife [plays], so I bought her a ball machine because I thought… I'm not getting on the court."

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