Meet our Alumni

O'Hara Wood, known as Pat, was an outstanding Australian Davis Cup representative and Wimbledon Champion. O'Hara Wood's promise as a tennis player was evident after he won the 1909 Victorian Schoolboys' Championship and then represented Victoria at the age of 18.

He began studying law at The University of Melbourne, but then at the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted as Second Lieutenant in the 13th Light Horse. He served at Gallipoli and later in France, where he was Aide-de-Camp to Major General Smyth and to General Birdwood. He received mention in despatches and was promoted to Captain.

Light and fast on his feet, O'Hara Wood was a graceful tennis player who was also known for his excellent sportsmanship. He was Australian National Singles Champion from 1920 to 1923 and Australian Doubles Champion on four occasions. During the 1920s he won 17 of his 23 Australian Davis Cup matches. The most notable of his victories was a straight sets win in the 1922 Challenge Round against a pairing that included Bill Tilden, who was later voted the greatest tennis player of the first half of the 20th Century.

O'Hara Wood was Doubles Champion at Wimbledon in 1919 and Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Champion in 1922. Playing in an amateur era, he turned to professional coaching in the 1930s to support his living. He was Official Coach to the Lawn Tennis Associations of Australia and Victoria, as well as to the Royal South Yarra Tennis Club.