Pat Rafter

Patrick Rafter married his long-term girlfriend Lara Feltham in 2004. The couple has two children.

Patrick Michael "Pat" Rafter was born on 28 December 1972, in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia, to Jocelyn and Jim Rafter. He is the seventh of the couple’s nine children.

He developed an interest in sports as a little boy and started playing tennis at the age of five with his father and three older brothers. By the time he was in his teens he had decided to pursue tennis on the professional level.

Patrick Rafter turned professional in 1991 when he was in his late teens. The initial years as a professional tennis player were not easy for him and it was only in 1994 that he won his first career singles title in Manchester.

The next few years were again unremarkable. His career received a big boost in 1997 when he managed to reach the semifinals at the French Open though he eventually lost to Sergi Bruguera. The same year, he had a surprise victory in the US Open, defeating Greg Rusedski in a four-set final. This victory made him the first non-American to win the title since Stefan Edberg in 1992.

His unexpected victory at the US Open—which was his first Grand Slam title—catapulted him to World No. 2 rank, behind only Pete Sampras.

He maintained his great form throughput the next year. He won the Canadian Open and Cincinnati in a row in 1998—only Andre Agassi before him had won both these tournaments in the same year in 1995.

The 1998 also saw him reach the final of the US Open after defeating Pete Sampras in a five-set semifinal. He met fellow Australian player Mark Philippoussis in the final and beat him to defend his US Open title.

A generous philanthropist, he donated half of the prize money from his 1997 and 1998 US Open wins to the Starlight Children's Foundation.

He also has his own charity organization that raises funds for children's causes each year. Rafter also supports animal rights.