Nicole Bradtke (née Provis) (born 22 September 1969) is a retired professional tennis player from Australia.

Nicole Bradtke
Country (sports)Australia
ResidenceMelbourne
Born (1969-09-22) 22 September 1969 (age 55)
Melbourne, Australia
Turned pro1986
Retired1997
PlaysRight-handed (two handed backhand)
Prize money$1,298,912
Singles
Career record243–191
Career titles3 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 24 (24 May 1993)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (1989, 1993)
French OpenSF (1988)
Wimbledon4R (1995)
US Open3R (1987)
Doubles
Career record222–164
Career titles9 WTA
Highest rankingNo. 11 (6 April 1992)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (1992, 1996)
French OpenSF (1988, 1990)
WimbledonSF (1989)
US OpenSF (1989)
Mixed doubles
Career titles2
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1992)
French OpenF (1990)
WimbledonF (1987)
US OpenW (1992)
Medal record
Olympic Games – Tennis
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Doubles

Bradtke won three singles and nine doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She reached the semifinals of the 1988 French Open, and won a bronze medal in doubles at the 1992 Summer Olympics, partnering Rachel McQuillan. In mixed doubles, she reached four Grand Slam finals, winning two of those partnering Mark Woodforde. Bradtke reached career-high rankings of No. 24 in singles and No. 11 in doubles. She retired from professional tennis in 1997 after a shoulder injury.

Professional career

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The young Nicole Provis (Bradtke) started playing tennis at the age of seven. Whilst still at school, she played her first professional tennis match in 1985, and made her debut at the Australian Open later that year. She found early success in mixed doubles, finishing runner-up at the 1987 Wimbledon Championships with Darren Cahill.

Bradtke burst into prominence in 1988, when she made the semifinals of the French Open as a relative unknown. She beat Sybille Niox-Château, Emmanuelle Derly before defeating two seeded players, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch and Sylvia Hanika, as well as Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (who had earlier beaten Chris Evert) before losing to Natasha Zvereva, despite holding two match points.

In early 1989, she reached the top 30, but failed to fulfill her early promise and quickly settled into the lower top 100 range, despite making further fourth rounds at the 1989 Australian Open and the 1990 French Open and winning her first title at home in Brisbane in 1992.

She then went on to great success in mixed doubles, winning both the 1992 Australian Open and the 1992 US Open with her partner, Mark Woodforde; and women's doubles, earning a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

She enjoyed a minor resurgence in singles in 1993, winning her second tour title in Kuala Lumpur and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open. She also earned her biggest career victory during that year, beating world No. 1 Steffi Graf in a Fed Cup tie.[1] Bradtke later helped Australia to reach the final, where they lost to the Spanish team.

After playing only eight events in 1994, she dropped out of the top 100, before recovering in 1995, earning another big victory over Gabriela Sabatini at the tournament in Berlin and returning to the top 40 in the world.

Bradtke retired after the 1997 Australian Open.

Personal life

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She is married to Mark Bradtke, a former Australian professional basketball player, since 1994. Together they have two boys, Austin (born 2000) and Jensen (born 2004), and run an indoor sports centre in Melbourne. She previously served as a coach for the Australian Fed Cup team, as well as undertaking private coaching. She has worked with fellow Australians Samantha Stosur and Alicia Molik. In 2007, she joined the National High Performance Academy team.

Her sister Natasha is married to Todd Woodbridge, making him her brother-in-law.[2]

Her eldest son Austin was selected by the Melbourne Football Club as a category B rookie in 2019 but delisted in 2021 without playing a senior game.[3]

Grand Slam finals

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Mixed doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1987 Wimbledon Grass   Darren Cahill   Jo Durie
  Jeremy Bates
7–6(12–10), 6–3
Loss 1990 French Open Clay   Danie Visser   Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
  Jorge Lozano
7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8)
Win 1992 Australian Open Hard   Mark Woodforde   Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
  Todd Woodbridge
6–3, 4–6, 11–9
Win 1992 US Open Hard   Mark Woodforde   Helena Suková
  Tom Nijssen
4–6, 6–3, 6–3

WTA career finals

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Singles (3–1)

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Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tour Championships (0)
Tier I (0)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (0)
Tier IV (3)
Tier V (0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jan 1992 Brisbane, Australia Hard   Rachel McQuillan 6–3, 6–2
Win 2–0 Apr 1993 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Hard (i)   Ann Grossman 6–3, 6–2
Loss 2–1 May 1993 Lucerne, Switzerland Clay   Lindsay Davenport 1–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win 3–1 Jan 1995 Auckland, New Zealand Hard   Ginger Helgeson 3–6, 6–2, 6–1

Doubles (9–4)

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Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tour Championships (0)
Tier I (1)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (1)
Tier IV (5)
Tier V (2)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 May 1988 Strasbourg, France Clay   Manon Bollegraf   Jenny Byrne
  Janine Thompson
7–5, 6–7(11–13), 6–3
Win 2–0 Aug 1989 Albuquerque, US Hard   Elna Reinach   Raffaella Reggi
  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win 3–0 May 1990 Berlin, West Germany Clay   Elna Reinach   Hana Mandlíková
  Jana Novotná
6–2, 6–1
Win 4–0 May 1990 Strasbourg, France Clay   Elna Reinach   Kathy Jordan
  Elizabeth Smylie
6–1, 6–4
Loss 4–1 May 1991 Rome, Italy Clay   Elna Reinach   Jennifer Capriati
  Monica Seles
5–7, 2–6
Loss 4–2 May 1991 Berlin, Germany Clay   Elna Reinach   Larisa Savchenko
  Natalia Zvereva
3–6, 3–6
Win 5–2 May 1991 Geneva, Switzerland Clay   Elizabeth Smylie   Cathy Caverzasio
  Manuela Maleeva
6–1, 6–2
Win 6–2 Jun 1991 Birmingham, UK Grass   Elizabeth Smylie   Sandy Collins
  Elna Reinach
6–3, 6–4
Loss 6–3 Jan 1992 Brisbane, Australia Hard   Manon Bollegraf   Jana Novotná
  Larisa Neiland
4–6, 3–6
Win 7–3 Feb 1992 Oklahoma, US Hard (i)   Lori McNeil   Katrina Adams
  Manon Bollegraf
3–6, 6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Win 8–3 Jan 1993 Melbourne, Australia Hard   Nathalie Tauziat   Cammy MacGregor
  Shaun Stafford
1–6, 6–3, 6–3
Loss 8–4 Jun 1995 Birmingham, UK Grass   Kristine Kunce   Manon Bollegraf
  Rennae Stubbs
6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Win 9–4 May 1996 Strasbourg, France Clay   Yayuk Basuki   Marianne Witmeyer
  Tami Jones
5–7, 6–4, 6–4

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles (4–0)

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$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 31 October 1986 Sydney, Australia Hard   Michelle Bowrey 6–3, 6–3
Winner 2. 3 December 1989 Melbourne, Australia Hard   Kate McDonald 1–6, 6–0, 7–5
Winner 3. 27 November 1994 Bendigo, Australia Hard   Annabel Ellwood 6–4, 6–7, 6–2
Winner 4. 17 December 1995 Nuriootpa, Australia Hard   Rachel McQuillan 7–5, 6–0

Doubles (0–1)

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Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 31 October 1986 Sydney, Australia Hard   Louise Field   Michelle Jaggard-Lai
  Lisa O'Neill
w/o

References

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  1. ^ "Bookies favour Stosur to lift French Open crown".
  2. ^ Daffey, Paul (13 February 2005). "Best sporting love matches". The Age. Melbourne.
  3. ^ Cleary, Mitch (23 May 2018). "Demons win race for sporting thoroughbred". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
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