PLAYER PROFILE

Lleyton Hewitt

  • Age44
  • Born24 February 1981
  • Birth PlaceAdelaide, Australia
  • LivesSydney, Australia
  • Height180 cm
  • PlaysRight-handed
  • Playing StatusRetired
  • International Tennis Hall Of Fame2021
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“That's the best I've ever hit the ball and to have beaten Guga in his backyard in straight sets in these conditions with 12,000 people booing you is an unbelievable feeling.”

— Lleyton Hewitt, 30 May 2025

» Aussies on clay: 10 highlights from the past 30 years

On court

  • Played football until the age 13, however, decided to pursue a tennis career.
  • Ranked No.1 Australian in the Under-18 division in 1996.
  • Captured the Under-18 Australian National Grasscourt title in 1996.
  • Qualified for the 1997 Australian Open aged 15 years and 11 months, the youngest in the tournament’s history.
  • Won the 1998 Adelaide ATP event, becoming the lowest ranked winner in ATP history to do so at world No.550.
  • Member of the Australian 1999 Davis Cup winning team that defeated France 3-2 in the final.
  • Finished 2000 as the No.1 ranked Australian.
  • First teenager to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup in 2000.
  • Won his first Grand Slam doubles title at the 2000 US Open.
  • Youngest player, and first Australian, to finish the year ranked No.1 on the ATP World Rankings in 2001.
  • Claimed his career-best sixth title of year at the Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney in 2001.
  • Won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2001, defeating Pete Sampras in straight sets in the final.
  • Secured his maiden Wimbledon crown, defeating Argentinean David Nalbandian in the 2002 final.
  • Won four ATP titles in 2004, including the 20th of his career at the Sydney International.
  • Reached his first Australian Open final in 2005, losing to Marat Safin in four sets.
  • Represented Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
  • Took three months off to recover from a hip ailment following his third-round exit from Australian Open 2010.
  • Claimed the 2010 Halle title in Germany, defeating Roger Federer in the final.
  • Represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympics.
  • Has won more Davis Cup rubbers than any other Australian Davis Cup player.
  • Defeated Roger Federer in Brisbane International 2014 final.

Off court

  • Favourite food is Japanese.
  • Favourite band is Cold Chisel.
  • Enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
  • Married his wife Rebecca in 2005. They have three children.
  • One day hopes to captain the Australian Davis Cup team.
  • Devout Adelaide Crows fan and his sporting hero is Tyson Edwards of the Crows. Plays Australian Rules recreationally.
  • Good friend of Aussie golfers Greg Norman and Aaron Baddeley.
  • Caddied for Greg Norman at Australian PGA event.
  • Supports many children’s charitable foundations in Australia.
  • His father, Glynn, is a former Aussie Rules Football player and his mother, Cherilyn, was a physical education teacher.
  • Has one younger sister, Jaslyn, who was No.1 junior in Australia in 2000.
  • Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (Class of 2021) in 2022.

Year-end singles ranking history

2014 50
2013 60
2012 83
2011 187
2010 54
2009 22
2008 67
2007 21
2006 20
2005 4
2004 3
2003 17
2002 1
2001 1
2000 7
1999 22
1998 113
1997 722

Titles/Finals

Titles

2014 Brisbane International, Newport

2010 Halle

2009 Houston

2007 Las Vegas

2006 London/Queen’s Club

2005 Sydney

2004 Long Island, Washington, Rotterdam, Sydney

2003 Indian Wells, Scottsdale

2002 Tennis Master Cup, Wimbledon, London/Queen’s Club, Indian Wells, San Jose

2001 Tennis Masters Cup, Tokyo, US Open,‘s-Hertogenbosch, London/Queen’s Club, Sydney

2000 London/Queen’s Club, Scottsdale, Sydney, Adelaide

1999 Delray Beach

1998 Adelaide, Perth Challenger

Finals

2013 Newport

2012 Newport

2006 Las Vegas, San Jose

2005 Indian Well, Australian Open

2004 Tennis Masters Cup, US Open, Cincinnati

2003 Los Angeles

2002 Paris, Cincinnati

2000 Stuttgart

1999 Lyon, Scottsdale, Adelaide

1998 Hong Kong Challenger

Lleyton Hewitt in the news

Alex de Minaur leads Aussie charge as Davis Cup returns to Sydney
Alex de Minaur will spearhead Australia's Davis Cup campaign; Getty Images
11 June, 2025

Alex de Minaur returns to his home city of Sydney to lead the Culture Amp Australian Davis Cup team in a crucial second-round Qualifier in September.
Read more
Aussies on clay: 10 highlights from the past 30 years
Patrick Rafter of Australia makes an off the ground overhead shot return against Sergi Bruguera during the Men's Singles semi final match during the French Open Tennis Championship on 6th June 1997 at the Stade Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France. (Photo by Gary M. Prior/Getty Images)
30 May, 2025

In the fifth and final part of our series, we revisit 10 great moments for Australian tennis on clay as the red-dirt action continues this week at Roland Garros.
Read more
Aussies on clay: Developing the next generation
Champion Parth Chitroda (VIC) at the 2025 14/u Australian Claycourt Championships at the Canberra Tennis Centre (TENNIS AUSTRALIA/ ANASTASIA KACHALKOVA)
16 May, 2025

More than ever, Australian players coming through the developmental pathway are training on clay and travelling to play on it, shaping the way tennis is played in an…
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Alex de Minaur: Climbing on clay
Alex de Minaur in action against Lorenzo Sonego at the Madrid Masters (Photo: OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images)
30 April, 2025

In the first of our five-part series analysing Australian tennis on clay, we look at the steady ascent of the nation’s leading light, Alex de Minaur, on the red dirt.
Read more
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