John Fitzgerald

Australian tennis star John Fitzgerald was an incredibly successful doubles player. Fitzgerald played professionally from 1980 to 1997 where he won the doubles at all four Grand Slams. He was ranked the number one doubles player in the world in July 1991 and won more than $3 million in prize money during his career.

Fitzgerald won his first ATP doubles title at the Swedish open in 1981 with fellow Australian Mark Edmondson. He went on to win 30 ATP doubles titles with a myriad of partners, including Pat Cash, Boris Becker, and Vijay Amritraj, with his most successful partnership coming with Sweden’s Anders Järryd. Fitzgerald also won six ATP singles titles during his career, with the first coming at the Austrian Open Kitzbühel in 1981.

Fitzgerald will be best remembered for his Grand Slam victories where he won all four tournaments between 1982 and 1991. His first Grand Slam doubles title came at the 1982 Australian Open when he teamed with former tennis player and politician John Alexander. Fitzgerald won the doubles title twice at each of the other three Grand Slams; the US Open (1984, 1991), the French Open (1986, 1991), and Wimbledon (1989, 1991). On top of this he also won the mixed doubles at the US Open in 1983, and at Wimbledon in 1991. Fitzgerald played on the winning Davis Cup team in 1983 and 1986, and was Australia’s team captain from 2001 to 2010.

In 1988 Fitzgerald competed at the Seoul Olympics in the singles and doubles. His singles performance was largely forgettable, losing to Canada’s Grant Connell in the first round. For the doubles he teamed with Darren Cahill with the pair reaching the quarter-finals. Four years later he competed in the doubles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. This time he played with Todd Woodbridge with the pair being knocked out in the second round.