Todd Woodbridge, 53, is Australia’s favourite Tipping Point game-show host and a devoted family man. And his love for tennis started at a young age.
However, it didn’t begin the way one might expect. In a recent podcast episode of Go Behind the Mask, Todd opened up about his older brother’s addiction with heroin. Seeing that at age seven and the impact it had on his family, he knew that he didn’t want to be that – “he needed to be something else”.
“I was already a great tennis player then, and I had this vehicle – I saw this opportunity. I watched television in those days and Wimbledon was on and Davis Cup […] and I would watch. I saw this dream,” Todd shared. “The thing about my brother really gave me this drive to be successful.”
OLYMPIC CHAMPION
And successful he has been. Todd has represented his home country Australia at the Olympics on four occasions – Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
While Todd’s an accomplished singles player, arguably his greatest success has been in doubles. The father-of-two rose to become the top-ranked doubles player in the world, winning 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles – 11 of them with Mark Woodforde.
Fondly remembered as ‘the Woodies’, Todd and Mark were a formidable men’s doubles tennis team. The team took home gold in Atlanta and silver four years later in Sydney.
Their Atlanta Olympic Games success remains Australia’s only gold medal in tennis. And the duo remain the only dual Aussie medallists in the sport.
WHY DID THE WOODIES FALL OUT?
However, over time, it’s said that ‘the Woodies’ had a falling out. It began when Todd teamed up with Jonas Bjorkman on the legends tour instead of Mark.
Candid about their ‘fractured relationship’, Mark opened up on the Break Point podcast in 2020, saying that it “absolutely cuts” him that he and Todd weren’t in a better place.
However, Todd insists that the duo are still close. He told Channel 9, “It’s improbable that we could ever be separated by everything that we’ve done together on the court.
“The Woodies is a household name in Australia. If the Australian public, and Mark in particular, wants to see us back together, we’ve got to make it happen.”
Then, in an interview with the Herald Sun, Todd was asked directly, “Are you and Woodforde still close?” to which he replied, “Yes.
“We are good friends and what we achieved together is very special. We don’t work a lot together or spend a huge amount of time together. We are very different characters and we live in different countries these days,” he added.
COMMENTATING AT PARIS 2024
For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Todd is representing Australia not on the court but close to it. The four-time Olympian is joining Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic as Channel 9’s Opening Ceremony narrators. Throughout the week, he’s also scheduled to commentate daily from 12-3pm AEST.
The Olympic Games begin on Friday, July 26 and run through to Sunday, August 11, with the Opening Ceremony, airing from 3am AEST Saturday.
On Instagram, Todd posted a candid photo of himself with Allison and Karl alongside the caption: “Opening ceremony homework with Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic – going to be fun working with these two 🙂😂”.
Before arriving in Paris for the Games, Todd and his wife of 29 years Natasha took a “quick trip to Gibraltar via Malaga for a break” he shared on social media.
Todd is also coming to us live from the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. The sports legend joins Dylan Alcott, Sylvia Jeffreys, Ellie Cole, James Bracey, Blake Cochrane, Roz Kelly and Kurt Fearnley to lead Nine’s coverage.
Here, we look back at Todd Woodbridge’s best moments at the Olympic Games.
TODD WOODBRIDGE BEST OLYMPICS MOMENTS
01
Barcelona 1992
Todd represented Australia 32 times in Davis Cup ties, the most appearances for his country by any Australian tennis player.
And he also represented Australia in singles at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
02
Atlanta 1996
Todd says things changed after the Atlanta Olympics.
“When we did get home [from Atlanta], everywhere you went you were congratulated for that moment,” he told ausopen.com.
“You found yourself being given a free dinner here, or going to the bakery where they’d throw in a free loaf of bread. It was sort of like one of those situations where the wealthier you get, the less you pay. But this was not about the actual money part – this was about people having felt like they shared in your moment.”
03
Sydney 2000
Todd’s Olympic successes have made him a hit at his kids’ schools. “When I go to a school as part of our Hot Shots program and I talk about my career … the Olympic medals are the trophies the kids gravitate to,” he said.
04
Athens 2004
“The Olympics takes an athlete to a different audience outside of their sport,” Todd has said. “The tennis world follows your tennis successes (on tour), but once you go into that Olympic space, then school kids are doing projects on you because you’re in the Australian team. Then when you get a medal, all of a sudden the news is plastered to people well outside of the spectrum of your individual sport.
“It gives you corporate opportunities that you never had as an individual athlete. You’re considered a national identity … and the representing of your nation far outweighs anything you do as an individual achievement.”
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