John Alexander (tennis)

John Alexander (tennis)

John Gilbert Alexander OAM MP (born 4 July 1951 in Sydney) is a former professional touring tennis player and current Australian politician.

During a tennis career spanning the late 1960s to mid 1980s, Alexander won 7 tour singles titles and 27 doubles titles. He achieved a career best singles ranking of World No. 8 in December 1975. Alexander is the youngest player to represent Australia in the Davis Cup. He was also one of Australia's longest serving Davis Cup players, representing his country from 1968 to 1983.

Alexander served as captain of the Australian Fed Cup team and worked as a sports commentator for Australian (Channel 7) and British (BBC) television networks for over 20 years. Alexander is known for his extensive knowledge (historical and technical) of tennis.

As Managing Director of Next Generation Clubs Australia, Alexander became a successful businessman building sport and fitness clubs; including the development of the Ryde Aquatic Centre in Sydney to host the 2000 Summer Olympic Games water polo event, development of Memorial Drive in Adelaide into a multi-function health and fitness facility, and Royal King's Park in Perth.

In 1995, Alexander was the referee in the first Australian series of Gladiators.

In December 2009 Alexander won Liberal preselection for the seat of Bennelong, which was held for 33 years by former Prime Minister John Howard until he lost it to Maxine McKew in November 2007. Alexander won the seat of Bennelong in the 2010 federal election with a swing of 4.52%.

Alexander delivered his maiden speech to Parliament on 28 October 2010, detailing his particular interest in areas of preventative health, infrastructure, transport and sustainable growth. During his first term Alexander has been put in charge of several internal policy committees, with a particular focus on regional development, high speed rail and policies to tackle urban congestion.

In October 2011 Alexander ran the inaugural Bennelong Cup Table Tennis Test Match, involving players from China, Korea and Australia playing in a formal competition in Ryde. In October 2012 the opening games were played in the Great Hall of Parliament House - the first competitive sporting event ever played there. The Ambassadors for China and Korea attended and participated in a friendly competition with Alexander and Minister for Sport Kate Lundy. The Bennelong Cup is the celebration of Alexander's Bennelong Schools Table Tennis Program which has put tables in all 40 Bennelong schools in order to encourage social interaction between students of different cultural backgrounds, together with a healthy activity.

Alexander's continual focus on delivering initiatives for the local Bennelong community has made him a popular local Member. Alexander was unchallenged in his Liberal preselection for the 2013 Election.

Alexander was married to Rosemary Brown, a former swimmer, for almost 10 years. They have three children: Emily (1990), Georgia (1991) and Charles (1994).

On 26 January 1992, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of services to tennis. On 30 August 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for strong commitment to tennis.