Aged five, Pat Rafter picked up a tennis racquet. It put him on the path to making Aussie history

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

The former world number one men's player won two grand slam titles, and an Australian Open men's doubles title during a more than decade-long professional career

Now, more than 20 years after he retired from the sport that made him a household name, Rafter lives a quiet life with his wife of two decades, Lara, with whom he shares two children.

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One of Australia's best tennis players, Pat Rafter, with fans in 2024. (Getty)

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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A young Rafter, circled, when he was part of his high school tennis squad. (Facebook/@Albany Creek State High School)

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.

The athlete pictured outside his family home in Brisbane, Australia in 1994, three years after going pro. (Getty)

He won his first career singles title in 1994.

But the 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.

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The Aussie star in action at the US Open. (Getty)

That year he locked in a No. 2 world ranking. And it was only months later that he went on to win the 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. And he was back in the semis at Wimbledon, but lost to Andre Agassi.

He underwent shoulder surgery later that year but still managed to finish the year as world No. 1. However, during his recovery, he slipped to 21st in the rankings and when he was back on court in the Wimbledon finals, it slipped through his fingers and he lost to Pete Sampras.

Rafter after winning the men's singles final of the 1998 US Open. (Getty)

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. He did not play in any tour matches in 2002 while recovering from injuries.

Retirement

Rafter with Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon. (Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Pat Rafter announced his retirement in January 2003, at the age of 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."

The tennis star was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008. (Getty)

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.

Five years later they welcomed their first child, son Joshua, in 2002 and reportedly became engaged.

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

Rafter reportedly met model Lara Feltham at a Starlight Children's Foundation event. (Getty)

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.

Pat Rafter and wife Lara have been married for 20 years. (Getty)

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. 

But he continued as an 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.

Rafter, pictured at the 100th birthday celebration of Bonds, was an ambassador for the brand for many years. (Getty)

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, now 52, and wife Lara continue to live at the property although their children have reportedly moved out.

Earlier this year, Rafter told Newscorp 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.

Rafter still looked fit after taking on the Big Freeze 10 waterslide in Melbourne last year. (AFL Photos via Getty Images)

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.

Earlier in the year, he was pictured when he donned 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.

He also took part in an exhibition match during day one of the Brisbane International event in December 2024.

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