Former Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athlete Todd Woodbridge has been appointed as the new coach of the national Davis Cup team. The tennis great will play a lead role in the development of Australia’s young tennis talent.

Woodbridge has had a highly successful tennis career, beginning with an AIS scholarship from 1986 to 1990. The Olympian has won an amazing 83 ATP World Tour doubles titles and 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles, including 11 with team-mate Mark Woodforde.

As the new Australian Davis Cup coach, Woodbridge will collaborate with the national captain to identify and develop the next generation of tennis talent. The Australian team is currently in preparation for the Asia and Oceania games of the 2010 Davis Cup.

Woodbridge’s new role will involve working closely with the AIS Tennis program to guide and nurture the development of talented players. In May, Woodbridge visited the AIS Tennis facilities, which recently returned to Canberra from Melbourne. He described the program’s facilities, which include newly constructed clay courts modelled on the French Open surface, as fantastic.

The AIS Tennis program works with Tennis Australia to support the ongoing training and development of young tennis talent and to help improve the performance of Australian players.