John Alexander

John Gilbert Alexander (born 4 July 1951), nicknamed JA, is an Australian former professional tennis player, sports broadcaster, and federal politician.

As a tennis player, Alexander reached a career-high singles rank of no. 8 in the world in 1975. He reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open singles on three occasions, and won the doubles in 1975 and 1982. He also played on the Australian team that won the 1977 Davis Cup. After the end of his playing career, Alexander worked as a tennis commentator and managed various sports-related businesses.

He was a commentator for Seven Sport, the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, for more than two decades, from the late 1980s until the early 2010s, becoming the main play-by-play commentator for men's singles prime time matches in the new millennium, alongside John McEnroe and from 2005 Jim Courier. JA's final commentary duties at the Australian Open were in 2010, thereafter he moved into politics, winning his seat at the 2010 Australian federal election.

Alexander won the Division of Bennelong for the Liberal Party at the 2010 election, and retained the seat in 2013 and 2016. He resigned on 11 November 2017 due to constitutional ineligibility arising from his dual citizenship of the United Kingdom. He renounced his UK citizenship and stood as the Liberal Party candidate at the by-election, held on 16 December 2017, which he won. In November 2021, Alexander announced his retirement from politics.

Early life Alexander was born in Sydney. His father, Gilbert Alexander, was born in Essex, England, in 1907 and moved to Australia at the age of three.

Tennis career

During a tennis career spanning the late 1960s to mid-1980s, Alexander won seven tour singles titles and 27 doubles titles, and earned a total of $1,214,079 (USD) in prize money. 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. From 1974 to 1986, Alexander served as the resident tennis professional at Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis Peachtree World of Tennis Club in Peachtree Corners, Georgia US.

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. Joining Seven in 1986, he provided play-by-play commentary and other duties for the network's Australian Open telecasts for 23 years, as well as appearing on other programs for ATN-7 Sydney, such as Seven News and 1990s reality show Gladiators. Alexander worked with colleagues including Peter Landy, Garry Wilkinson, Allan Stone, Sandy Roberts, Bruce McAvaney and Johanna Griggs, as well as John McEnroe in the early 2000s and Jim Courier from 2005 to 2010 (who remains in this position to this date, now with the Nine Network).

Business career As managing director of Next Generation Clubs Australia, Alexander designed and built sport and fitness clubs; including the Ryde Aquatic Centre in Sydney to host the 2000 Summer Olympic Games water polo event, the development of Memorial Drive in Adelaide into a multi-function health and fitness facility, and Royal King's Park in Perth.

In 1995, Alexander served as referee during the first series run of the Australian adaptation of the television series Gladiators.

Shortly before his election to Parliament in 2010, Alexander's Tennis Professionals won a High Court case for the right to redevelop the White City Tennis Centre in Sydney.

Alexander also managed a variety of small businesses in the retail and sporting sectors.

Political career Alexander is a member of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party.

As a Liberal Party candidate, John Alexander won the seat of Bennelong from the Australian Labor Party in the 2010 election with a swing of 4.52 points, giving a two-party-preferred margin of 3.1 points.

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 was put in charge of several internal policy committees, with a particular focus on regional development 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, a suburb within his constituency. In October 2012 the opening games were played in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberrathe first competitive sporting event ever played there. The Ambassadors for China and Korea 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 to encourage social interaction between students of different cultural backgrounds, together with a healthy activity. The Bennelong Cup has continued every year since with an interschool tournament followed by international competition in Ryde, preceded by exhibition matches in Parliament House, Canberra.

Alexander has also established a range of other local programs including Bennelong Gardens, which provides work opportunities for people with disabilities in specially designed market gardens, and Bennelong Village Business program which promotes the benefits of local small business shopping and negotiates discounted advertising rates for small businesses in the local newspaper. John Alexander received much publicity for his 100 km charity walk around Bennelong to raise money and awareness of motor neurone disease after the loss of two close friends to the disease.

Alexander was not challenged in Liberal preselection in 2012. In the 2013 election Alexander was re-elected as Member for Bennelong, increasing his two party preferred margin to 7.8 points.

In September 2013 Alexander was appointed chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax & Revenue, a role in which he worked on improving access to 'light touch' tax returns for individuals with simple tax affairs. Following this he was appointed chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics, where he instigated an inquiry into home ownership and opportunities for tax reform. Following Malcolm Turnbull's ascension to Prime Minister John Alexander was appointed chair of the newly formed House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport & Cities, where he commenced an inquiry into transport connectivity, regional development, high speed rail and the use of value capture as an innovative funding mechanism.

Alexander also served as chair of the Coalition Policy Committees on Infrastructure & Regional Development, and on Tourism, of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, and of the Australia–East Asia Parliamentary Network.

As a strong proponent of high-speed rail linking Australia's eastern seaboard, Alexander delivered the keynote speech at a high-speed rail conference at University of Melbourne in February 2014, highlighting the resultant opportunities for regional development and reduction in traffic congestion in major cities.

Alexander was not challenged in Liberal preselection in 2016. In the 2016 election, he was re-elected as member for Bennelong, earning a small swing toward him despite the state – and the nation – swinging toward Labor. Alexander's hold on Bennelong was largely attributed to his high personal vote in the electorate.

During the Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, on 6 November 2017, it was reported that Alexander might also be a British citizen and so had never been eligible for election to the Parliament. On 11 November 2017, Alexander resigned from parliament after conceding that he was likely a dual citizen, necessitating a by-election in Bennelong. He renounced his UK citizenship and stood as the Liberal Party candidate at the by-election, held on 16 December 2017. During his campaigning, a YouTube video of Alexander in the 1990s, uploaded in 2011, was resurfaced in the media. The video displays Alexander telling racist jokes at an end of year party with film crew from the 1990s TV show Gladiators. Once the video was shared with the ABC, Alexander immediately released a written statement that described how the jokes were "completely unacceptable". Alexander elaborated: "There is no place for jokes about violence against women. Again, I apologise unreservedly". Then Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, praised Alexander's claims, saying his apology was "a measure of the man [...] Not all disrespect of women ends up in violence against women but that's where all violence against women begins, so all of us need to reflect on that. John has done so." Alexander's high profile opponent in the by-election, Kristina Keneally, appeared with then opposition leader Bill Shorten in Eastwood to respond to the incident. Shorten said that "The comments are crass, they're wrong, they're stupid, and the apology is 22 years too late". At a press conference, Mr Shorten denied allegations that Labor had deliberately sourced the video in an attempt to bait Alexander during the campaign. Despite this setback, Alexander was safely re-elected, despite suffering a 4.84% two party preferred swing against him to Keneally and Labor. This reduced the Liberal Party's hold in Bennelong from 9.72% to 4.88%, making the seat marginal and at its most vulnerable position for the Coalition since John Howard's reliance on preference votes in 2004 to hold the seat by 4.33%.

In the lead up to the 2019 election, Alexander was scrutinised for his comments in response to Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. Bainimarama had asked the Australian Government to "please stop burning coal, you know the water level's just coming up and it's threatening our communities", to which Alexander responded "move to higher ground". Speaking at a community function in his electorate, Alexander elaborated: "It’s very much like your house is on fire, your children are in the house – should you call the fire brigade and get the children out of the house?" This statement was considered inflammatory by his Labor opponent, Brian Owler, who stated that "he [Alexander] says if the house is on fire to get out. Well, we don’t have a second house – or planet – to run to. It would be better if we didn’t start the fire in the first place." Bainimarama replied to Alexander in a formal statement to Fiji press members, imploring that "Fiji is lucky we even have the higher ground to allow for relocation at all. I’m keen to hear what Alexander believes the people of Kiribati should do in the face of rising seas, where the highest point in their country sits at just 1.8 metres above sea level." Alexander later appeared on ABC Radio, clarifying the nature of his remarks by saying that adaptation was "a priority [...] we must also act to prevent further damage to our planet". Despite the controversy, Alexander comfortably retained Bennelong, albeit suffering a 2.8% swing away from him.

In November 2021, Alexander opted to not contest the next election, deciding to retire from politics. Shortly following his announcement, Alexander spoke with Paul Bongiorno of The Saturday Paper, reflecting on his experiences and time in office. Alexander criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison, claiming that "people are tired of the way we engage with each other. All we do is bash each other." Bongiorno's opinion piece later writes that Alexander 'reserves his biggest salvos for the leadership of the Coalition government: Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg and Barnaby Joyce', and feels that 'if Labor’s Anthony Albanese wins the election, policies more fit to serve the national interest rather than narrow sectional interest might be served'. This insight was deemed to be damaging for the Coalition, with Bennelong named as a 'key seat' for the upcoming election by ABC election analyst Antony Green. Bennelong had only been won by Labor once in nearly 80 years, and was gained for them again by Jerome Laxale at the 2022 election.

Tennis career finals Singles: 27 (7 titles, 20 runner-ups)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1. Aug 1970 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Željko Franulović 4–6, 7–9, 4–6Loss 2. Jan 1971 Hobart, Australia Hard Alex Metreveli 6–7, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6Loss 3. Jan 1971 Sydney, Australia Hard Phil Dent 3–6, 4–6, 4–6Loss 4. May 1971 Tehran, Iran Clay Marty Riessen 7–6, 1–6, 3–6, 6–7Loss 5. Dec 1972 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard John Newcombe 1–6, 6–7Loss 6. Apr 1973 Gothenburg, Sweden Carpet (i) Stan Smith 7–5, 4–6, 2–6Loss 7. Sep 1973 Seattle, United States Hard Tom Okker 5–7, 4–6Loss 8. Jan 1974 Lakeway, United States Cliff Richey 6–7, 1–6Loss 9. Apr 1974 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Andrew Pattison 3–6, 5–7Win 1. Feb 1975 Fort Worth WCT, United States Hard Dick Stockton 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–3Loss 10. Mar 1975 Atlanta WCT, United States Carpet (i) Mark Cox 3–6, 6–7(3–7)Win 2. Mar 1975 Tucson, United States Hard Ilie Năstase 7–5, 6–2Loss 11. Jul 1975 Chicago, United States Carpet (i) Roscoe Tanner 1–6, 7–6, 6–7Loss 12. Mar 1977 St. Louis WCT, United States Carpet (i) Jimmy Connors 6–7(5–7), 2–6Win 3. Jul 1977 North Conway, United States Clay Manuel Orantes 2–6, 6–4, 6–4Loss 13. Jul 1978 Louisville, United States Clay Harold Solomon 2–6, 2–6Loss 14. Jul 1978 North Conway, United States Clay Eddie Dibbs 4–6, 4–6Loss 15. Oct 1978 Brisbane, Australia Grass Mark Edmondson 4–6, 6–7Loss 16. Mar 1979 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) John McEnroe 4–6, 3–6Loss 17. Apr 1979 Nice, France Clay Víctor Pecci 3–6, 2–6, 5–7Win 4. Jul 1979 Louisville, United States Hard Terry Moor 7–6, 6–7, 3–3 ret.Loss 18. Sep 1979 Atlanta, United States Hard Eliot Teltscher 3–6, 6–4, 2–6Win 5. Jun 1982 Bristol, England Grass Tim Mayotte 6–3, 6–4Loss 19. Sep 1982 Palermo, Italy Clay Mario Martinez 4–6, 5–7Win 6. Dec 1982 Sydney, Australia Grass John Fitzgerald 4–6, 7–6, 6–4Win 7. Jan 1983 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Russell Simpson 6–4, 6–3, 6–3Loss 20. Jul 1983 South Orange, United States Clay Brad Drewett 6–4, 4–6, 6–7

Doubles: 53 (28 titles, 25 runner-ups) ResultNo.YearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1. 1970 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Phil Dent Bob Lutz Stan Smith 3–6, 6–8, 3–6Loss 2. 1970 Hilversum, Netherlands Hard Phil Dent Bill Bowrey Owen Davidson 3–6, 4–6, 2–6Win 1. 1970 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Phil Dent Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš 10–8, 6–2, 6–4Win 2. 1971 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Hard Phil Dent Mal Anderson Alex Metreveli 6–7, 2–6, 6–3, 7–6, 7–6Win 3. 1971 Hamburg Masters, Germany Clay Andrés Gimeno Dick Crealy Allan Stone 6–4, 7–5, 7–9, 6–4Win 4. 1971 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Phil Dent John Newcombe Tom Okker 5–7, 6–3, 6–4Win 5. 1971 Los Angeles, United States Hard Phil Dent Frank Froehling Clark Graebner 7–6, 6–4Loss 3. 1971 Vancouver WCT, Canada Hard Phil Dent Roy Emerson Rod Laver 7–5, 7–6, 0–6, 5–7, 6–7Loss 4. 1972 Quebec WCT, Canada Hard (i) Terry Addison Bob Carmichael Ray Ruffels 6–4, 3–6, 5–7Loss 5. 1972 St. Louis WCT, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent John Newcombe Tony Roche 6–7, 2–6Win 6. 1972 Bretton Woods, United States Hard Fred Stolle Nikola Pilić Cliff Richey 7–6, 7–6Win 7. 1972 Louisville WCT, United States Clay Phil Dent Arthur Ashe Bob Lutz 6–4, 6–3Loss 6. 1973 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Phil Dent Mal Anderson John Newcombe 3–6, 4–6, 6–7Win 8. 1973 Toronto WCT, Canada Carpet (i) Phil Dent Roy Emerson Rod Laver 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2Loss 7. 1973 Brussels WCT, Belgium Carpet (i) Phil Dent Bob Lutz Stan Smith 4–6, 6–7Win 9. 1973 Cincinnati, United States Clay Phil Dent Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 1–6, 7–6, 7–6Loss 8. 1974 Richmond WCT, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent Nikola Pilić Allan Stone 3–6, 6–3, 6–7Win 10. 1974 Miami WCT, United States Hard Phil Dent Tom Okker Marty Riessen 4–6, 6–4, 7–5Win 11. 1974 Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco Clay Phil Dent Manuel Orantes Tony Roche 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3Loss 9. 1974 San Francisco, United States Hard (i) Syd Ball Bob Stan Smith 4–6, 6–7Win 12. 1975 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Phil Dent Bob Carmichael Allan Stone 6–3, 7–6Loss 10. 1975 Fort Worth WCT, United States Hard Phil Dent Bob Lutz Stan Smith 7–6, 6–7, 3–6Win 13. 1975 San Antonio WCT, United States Hard Phil Dent Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale 7–6, 4–6, 6–4Loss 11. 1975 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet (i) Phil Dent Bob Lutz Stan Smith 4–6, 7–6, 2–6Win 14. 1975 Las Vegas, United States Hard Phil Dent Bob Carmichael Cliff Drysdale 6–1, 6–4Loss 12. 1975 French Open, Paris Clay Phil Dent Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 4–6Win 15. 1975 Chicago, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent Mike Cahill John Whitlinger 6–3, 6–4Loss 13. 1975 North Conway, United States Clay Phil Dent Haroon Rahim Erik van Dillen 6–7, 6–7Win 16. 1976 Atlanta WCT, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent Wojtek Fibak Karl Meiler 6–3, 6–4Loss 14. 1976 St. Louis WCT, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 4–6, 2–6Win 17. 1976 Denver WCT, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent Jimmy Connors Billy Martin 6–7, 6–2, 7–5Loss 15. 1977 Houston WCT, United States Hard Phil Dent Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta 3–6, 4–6Loss 16. 1977 Wimbledon, London Grass Phil Dent Ross Case Geoff Masters 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 9–8, 4–6Win 18. 1977 Cincinnati, United States Clay Phil Dent Bob Hewitt Roscoe Tanner 6–3, 7–6Win 19. 1977 Washington, D.C., United States Clay Phil Dent Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 7–5, 7–5Win 20. 1977 Louisville WCT, United States Clay Phil Dent Chris Kachel Cliff Letcher 6–1, 6–4Loss 17. 1977 Adelaide, Australia Grass Phil Dent Syd Ball Kim Warwick 6–3, 6–7, 4–6Win 21. 1977 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass Phil Dent Ray Ruffels Allan Stone 7–6, 2–6, 6–3Loss 18. 1977 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Phil Dent Ray Ruffels Allan Stone 6–7, 6–7Win 22. 1978 Forest Hills WCT, United States Clay Phil Dent Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 7–6, 7–6Win 23. 1978 Atlanta, United States Hard Butch Walts Mike Cahill Marcello Lara 3–6, 6–4, 7–6Win 24. 1978 Los Angeles, United States Carpet (i) Phil Dent Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 7–6Win 25. 1978 Brisbane, Australia Grass Phil Dent Syd Ball Allan Stone 6–3, 7–6Loss 19. 1979 Houston, United States Clay Geoff Masters Gene Mayer Sherwood Stewart 1–6, 7–5, 4–6Loss 20. 1979 Adelaide, Australia Grass Phil Dent Colin Dibley Chris Kachel 7–6, 6–7, 4–6Loss 21. 1981 Mexico City, Mexico Clay Ross Case John Newcombe Tony Roche 7–6, 3–6, 1–6Loss 22. 1981 Maui, United States Hard Jim Delaney Tony Graham Matt Mitchell 3–6, 6–3, 6–7Win 26. 1982 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass John Fitzgerald Andy Andrews John Sadri 6–7, 6–2, 7–6Win 27. 1982 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass John Fitzgerald Cliff Letcher Craig Miller 6–4, 7–6Win 28. 1983 Bristol Open, England Grass John Fitzgerald Tom Gullikson Johan Kriek 7–5, 6–4Loss 23. 1984 Rome, Italy Clay Mike Leach Ken Flach Robert Seguso 6–3, 3–6, 4–6Loss 24. 1984 Bristol, England Grass John Fitzgerald Larry Stefanki Robert Van't Hof 4–6, 7–5, 7–9Loss 25. 1985 Bristol, England Grass Russell Simpson Eddie Edwards Danie Visser 4–6, 6–7

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Personal Alexander was briefly married, while in the United States, to a Canadian model and later married to Rosemary Brown, a former Olympic swimmer, for almost ten years. He and the former Ms. Brown have three children: Emily (1990), Georgia (1991) and Charles (1994). Alexander no longer lives in his electorate, but continued to rent an apartment in Epping.

Honours On 26 January 1992, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

On 30 August 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.