Mats Wilander is the only player to win Australian Open singles titles on both grass and hard courts.
Wilander won the Australian Open on grass at Kooyong in 1983 and 1984, then captured the 1988 championship on hard courts at the newly opened Melbourne Park. That unusual achievement was created by the tournament’s surface change: the Australian Open moved from grass to hard courts in 1988. Wilander therefore won the same major across two different playing eras and surfaces.
His 1988 final against Pat Cash lasted five sets and ended 6–3, 6–7(3), 3–6, 6–1, 8–6. Wilander also won the French Open three times and the US Open once, making him one of the era’s most versatile champions. A common mistake is assuming any player with titles on grass and hard courts qualifies; this question concerns Australian Open titles specifically. Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Ivan Lendl did not win the event on both surfaces.