Mark Woodforde facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mark Woodforde
OAM

Full name	Mark Raymond Woodforde
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Born	(1965-09-23) 23 September 1965 (age 59) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Turned pro	1984
Retired	2000
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$8,551,305
Int. Tennis HoF	2010 (member page)
Singles
Career record	319–312
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 19 (22 April 1996)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1996)
French Open	4R (1997)
Wimbledon	4R (1988, 1990, 1997)
US Open	4R (1987, 1988)
Other tournaments
Grand Slam Cup	QF (1996)
Doubles
Career record	647–248
Career titles	67
Highest ranking	No. 1 (16 November 1992)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1992, 1997)
French Open	W (2000)
Wimbledon	W (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000)
US Open	W (1989, 1995, 1996)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1992, 1996)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	5
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1992, 1996)
French Open	W (1995)
Wimbledon	W (1993)
US Open	W (1992)
Medal record Representing  Australia Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta Doubles Silver 2000 Sydney Doubles

Mark Raymond Woodforde is a famous former professional tennis player from Australia. He was born on September 23, 1965. Mark is most famous for being half of "The Woodies", a super successful doubles team with his partner Todd Woodbridge.

Mark started playing on the professional tennis tour in 1984. He won four singles titles, which means he won tournaments playing by himself. He even won his hometown tournament in Adelaide twice! His best singles result in a major tournament, called a Grand Slam, was reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 1996.

Mark is especially known for how amazing he was at doubles tennis. In doubles, two players team up against another pair. He won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles in his career. These include one French Open, two Australian Opens, three US Opens, and a record six Wimbledon titles.

Eleven of these big wins were with his partner, Todd Woodbridge, as "The Woodies". He also won the 1989 US Open doubles with another famous player, John McEnroe. Mark also won five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, where a male and female player team up. This means he won a total of 17 Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles titles! He even became the world's number one doubles player in November 1992.

The Woodies: A Winning Team

Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge were an incredible team. Mark, who played left-handed, was great at hitting shots from the back of the court (called the baseline). Todd was super quick at the net, hitting volleys (shots hit before the ball bounces). Their different styles worked perfectly together.

They were named the "ATP Doubles Team of the Year" four times. Together, "The Woodies" won 61 professional doubles tournaments. Mark won a total of 67 doubles titles in his career.

Olympic Medals and Awards

Mark also had amazing success at the Olympic Games. He won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Both of these were in men's doubles with Todd Woodbridge.

In 1997, Mark was given the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). This award is a special honor from Australia for his great service to sport, especially for winning the Olympic gold medal.

Playing for Australia

Mark played for the Australian Davis Cup Team in three Davis Cup finals. The Davis Cup is a big international team competition in men's tennis. In 1999, he and Todd Woodbridge helped Australia win against France in Paris. This was Australia's first Davis Cup victory in 13 years!

Mark stopped playing professional tennis in 2000. After retiring, he became the coach for Australia's Fed Cup team in 2003. He has also worked as a tennis commentator for TV channels like Fox Sports and ESPN.

Hall of Fame and Special Honors

In January 2010, Mark and Todd, "The Woodies", were added to the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame. This means their amazing achievements in tennis are remembered forever. As part of this honor, bronze statues of them were placed at Melbourne Park, where the Australian Open is held.

In 2014, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) gave Mark and Todd their highest award, the Philippe Chatrier Award. This award recognizes their huge contributions to tennis.

Grand Slam Finals

Grand Slams are the four biggest tennis tournaments each year: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.

Doubles: 16 Finals (12 Wins, 4 Losses)

Mark Woodforde won the French Open in 2000. This meant he had won all four Grand Slam doubles titles at least once in his career, which is called a "career Grand Slam"!

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1989	US Open	Hard	John McEnroe	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Kelly Jones Rick Leach	6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1993	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Grant Connell Patrick Galbraith	7–6, 6–3, 7–6
Win	1994	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Grant Connell Patrick Galbraith	7–6, 6–3, 6–1
Loss	1994	US Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Jacco Eltingh Paul Haarhuis	3–6, 6–7(6)
Win	1995	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Rick Leach Scott Melville	7–5, 7–6, 7–6
Win	1995	US Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Alex O'Brien Sandon Stolle	6–3, 6–3
Win	1996	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Byron Black Grant Connell	4–6, 6–1, 6–3, 6–2
Win	1996	US Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Jacco Eltingh Paul Haarhuis	4–6, 7–6, 7–6
Win	1997	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Sébastien Lareau Alex O'Brien	4–6, 7–5, 7–5, 6–3
Loss	1997	French Open	Clay	Todd Woodbridge	Yevgeny Kafelnikov Daniel Vacek	6–7(12), 6–4, 3–6
Win	1997	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Jacco Eltingh Paul Haarhuis	7–6, 7–6, 5–7, 6–3
Loss	1998	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Jonas Björkman Jacco Eltingh	2–6, 7–5, 6–2, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	1998	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Jacco Eltingh Paul Haarhuis	6–2, 4–6, 6–7(3), 7–5, 8–10
Win	2000	French Open	Clay	Todd Woodbridge	Paul Haarhuis Sandon Stolle	7–6, 6–4
Win	2000	Wimbledon	Grass	Todd Woodbridge	Paul Haarhuis Sandon Stolle	6–3, 6–4, 6–1

Mixed Doubles: 7 Finals (5 Wins, 2 Losses)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Nicole Provis	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Todd Woodbridge	6–3, 4–6, 11–9
Win	1992	US Open	Hard	Nicole Provis	Helena Suková Tom Nijssen	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win	1993	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	Manon Bollegraf Tom Nijssen	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1993	US Open	Hard	Martina Navratilova	Helena Suková Todd Woodbridge	3–6, 6–7
Win	1995	French Open	Clay	Larisa Savchenko-Neiland	Jill Hetherington John-Laffnie de Jager	7–6(10–8), 7–6(7–4)
Win	1996	Australian Open	Hard	Larisa Savchenko Neiland	Nicole Arendt Luke Jensen	4–6, 7–5, 6–0
Loss	1996	Wimbledon	Grass	Larisa Savchenko Neiland	Helena Suková Cyril Suk	6–1, 3–6, 2–6

Singles Finals: 9 Matches (4 Wins, 5 Losses)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jan 1986	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Bud Schultz	6–4, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win	2–0	Jan 1988	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Wally Masur	6–2, 6–4
Win	3–0	Jan 1989	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Patrik Kühnen	7–5, 1–6, 7–5
Loss	3–1	Oct 1989	Brisbane, Australia	Hard	Niclas Kroon	6–4, 2–6, 4–6
Loss	3–2	Aug 1992	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Richard Krajicek	4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Loss	3–3	Nov 1992	Antwerp, Belgium	Carpet (i)	Richard Krajicek	2–6, 2–6
Win	4–3	Feb 1993	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Ivan Lendl	5–4 ret.
Loss	4–4	Aug 1994	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Boris Becker	2–6, 2–6
Loss	4–5	Oct 1998	Singapore	Carpet (i)	Marcelo Ríos	4–6, 2–6

Images for kids

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  Mark Woodforde

See also

In Spanish: Mark Woodforde para niños