Australian tennis great Pat Rafter made a rare public appearance to be celebrated at the 2024 Queensland Sport Awards, where he was officially elevated to legend status.
The 51-year-old, a two-time US Open Grand Slam winner, received the highest honor an athlete can receive in the state when he was named a “Queensland Sports Legend”.
“It means a lot to me…my name will be there forever,” Rafter said.
‘When you play sports, these things (the awards) are not on your mind, you just concentrate on what you are doing to be the best you can be. And then these come along and it’s just the icing on the cake.
“To see the athletes there tonight also being inducted into the Hall of Fame is just incredible,” he said.
Rafter, who has been retired for more than 20 years, now resides in the Byron Bay hinterland with his family, where he enjoys a quiet life.
Pat Rafter (pictured with wife Lara, daughter India and son Joshua) at the Queensland Sport Awards 2024
Tennis champion named ‘Queensland Sports Legend’ at ceremony
The father-of-two has been busy – his family has planted approximately 7,500 native plants and trees on their 26 hectare property, and also planted 10,000 eucalyptus trees in a bid to create a corridor and sanctuary for koalas.
“I really love working the land and that takes up a lot of my time,” he told News Corp in May 2024.
“For us it is very important to regenerate the property so that it returns to what it was before and we are doing it in segments.”
Seeing echidnas, bandicoots and swamp kangaroos has become the norm, and Rafter and his wife Lara enjoy the quiet life.
Their children, Joshua, 21, and India, 18, have moved away as they look to start their own careers and lives.
The former sports heartthrob, who reached number one in the world ranking in 1999, also discovered that his family has a criminal past.
The Rafter appeared on the SBS show Who Do You Think You Are? with a historian revealing that the tennis star’s great-grandfather on his father’s side was often in trouble with the law.
David Dee’s family came to Australia from Ireland and settled in Townsville in 1875 as free immigrants, and the baker had a short fuse.
Rafter won two US Open titles in his career (pictured above in the 1997 final) and was also world number one in 1999.
These days Rafter lives a relaxed life with his wife Lara in the hinterland of Byron Bay
Police once accused Dee of using profanity, with the offensive words “damned bastard and damned rascal.”
Court appearances and physical altercations followed, before Dee was jailed for four years after fighting with another man.
His wife Teresa had to raise five children, and after finding love elsewhere with her husband behind bars, Dee sadly died broke, separated from his children and alone in Cairns in 1918.
Rafter acknowledged that Dee “made some really bad decisions,” but was still fascinated to hear about her early family history.
He also confirmed that he doesn’t play much tennis these days, but he competed in the recent World Senior Padel Championships in Spain, in the men’s 50-54 division.
Rafter also donated his time to The Big Freeze fundraiser at the MCG on June 10 ahead of the AFL final.
The Big Freeze is an annual event hosted by FightMND, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding effective treatments and ultimately a cure for motor neurone disease (MND).
“Well, you know, it’s just supporting a great charity and a great cause, and I know some people who have been affected by MND and it’s a horrible, horrible disease,” he said.
Rafter was once voted People’s Sexiest Athlete Alive, the same year he rose to stardom after his first US Open victory in 1997 (pictured at US Open in 1998).
“So I want to get on the boat and see what happens… It seemed like a great idea at the time,” he joked.
Pat was once voted People’s Sexiest Athlete Alive, the same year he rose to stardom after his first US Open victory in 1997.
Since retiring, Pat has become an underwear model for Bonds, a brand ambassador for the Mantra hotel group and a successful businessman.
He was named Australian of the Year in 2002, three years after winning the Davis Cup for his country.
After an impressive career, Pat was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.
His greatest achievements came at the US Open, where he won back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998, propelling him to no. 1 status in 1999.