Paris, France, 4 August 2024 | Vivienne Christie

Amid the joyful celebrations that accompanied Matt Ebden and John Peers’ proudest career moments at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, attention for the Australian men quickly turned to their families.

Ebden’s wife, Kim, and two-year-old son, Harvey, were courtside as the pair proudly added to Australia’s gold-medal tally in Paris. Peers was supported by his wife Danielle and daughters Ellie and Harper.

“They’re going to be talking about this until we’re 100,” Peers smiled.

And what a story they’ll have from that special day at Roland Garros.

Ebden and Peers trailed by a set and a break of serve against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram before storming back to become the second Australian duo to win an Olympic gold medal in tennis.

It came 28 years after Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde had combined to win gold at Atlanta 2004.

You keep us all on the edge of our seats ⁦@mattebden⁩ ⁦@johnwpeers⁩.
A thriller befitting for GOLD!!
Overjoyed for you guys.
⁦@iocmedia⁩ ⁦@ITFTennis⁩ ⁦@TennisAustralia⁩ pic.twitter.com/nv7OD3owrk

— Mark Woodforde (@MarkWoodforde) August 3, 2024

“It’s a blur. We’ve been lost for words … it was a super tough match, obviously, and I think a really high quality match,” said Ebden of the pair’s 6-7(6) 7-6(1) [10-8] comeback win over the No.4 seeds.

“We were up against it … we were losing for sure. But, you know, we kept believing, kept fighting, kept hanging strong.”

Victory for the unseeded Australians, both 36 years old, followed a straight-sets win over third-seeded American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the semifinals.

Krajicek and Ram, who have each held the world No.1 ranking in recent years, defeated high-profile Spanish pair Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

“It’s trippy. It’s more than a dream,” said Ebden, who has lifted doubles trophies at Wimbledon (with Max Purcell in 2022) and the Australian Open (with India’s Rohan Bopanna in 2024) and claimed gold on his Olympic debut in Paris.

“I didn’t even dream of winning a gold medal growing up or whatever, but obviously the last few years [I’ve] had great success on the doubles court and [that] give me a lot of belief and confidence.”

Peers, also a two-time Grand Slam champion after winning Australian Open 2017 with Henri Kontinen and US Open 2022 mixed doubles title with Storm Sanders, added to an Olympics career that saw him claim bronze in mixed doubles alongside Ash Barty at Tokyo 2020.

“To win a gold medal … I think it’s like folklore,” said Peers, who was also a part of Australia’s Olympic tennis team at Rio in 2016 .

“For me to be able to do that and say that we’re gold medallists, I mean, doing it for the green and gold in Australia and the people back home, that’s what we play the sport for.”

The newest Olympic tennis champions are delighted to be mentioned alongside their gold medal-winning predecessors, Woodbridge and Woodforde.

“It’s an absolute honour anytime I get mentioned in the same breath as those two, they paved the way for us,” said Peers. “They’ve always been there for us.”

Ebden and Peers were equally thrilled to add to the broader team spirit in Paris, where Australia has claimed at least one gold medal on each day so far of the 2024 Games.

“Everyone’s always watching each other, always supporting each other. Someone comes back to the village with a medal, everyone’s there cheering as soon as they’re there,” said Peers.

“It’s a really tight-knit group and I know Australia’s had an unbelievable history in the Olympics and in sport as a whole. We’re a proud sporting nation.”

Having absorbed their own Olympic spirit while watching other Australians compete throughout their respective childhoods, Ebden and Peers are especially proud to have set such a successful example to their families.

As Peers noted of the biggest lesson he hoped that seven-year-old Ellie would take away from her courtside experience. “Dream big and just know anything’s possible when you put your mind to it.”

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