In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces (hard, clay and grass) and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20. His career achievements include winning the 2000 US Open men's doubles, the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon men's singles, and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles (2001 and 2002). In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put Hewitt in 34th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players since 1965.
Hewitt might well have followed in the footsteps of his Australian rules football-playing father Glynn. Instead, he became one of the youngest winners of an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament when, as an almost unknown youngster, he won the 1998 Next Generation Adelaide International, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals. Only Aaron Krickstein winning Tel Aviv in 1983 and Michael Chang winning San Francisco in 1988 were younger when claiming their first ATP title. Hewitt then left Immanuel College to concentrate on his tennis career.
Hewitt began his 15th season on the ATP Tour at the Hopman Cup in Perth. He defeated his Belgian opponent Ruben Bemelmans, 6–4, 6–3, and went on to win the tie for Australia with a three-set victory in the mixed doubles, partnering Alicia Molik. He next played world no. 3 Novak Djokovic, but lost in straight sets. For his final singles match of the tournament, he played Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev, defeating him in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3.
After the Hopman Cup, Hewitt competed in the AAMI Kooyong Classic, an exhibitional tournament in the build-up to the Australian Open. He started the tournament solidly, taking out third seed Mikhail Youzhny, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round, he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6–3, 7–6. In the final, he defeated Frenchman Gaël Monfils 7–5, 6–3. It was the first time that Hewitt had played in the tournament.
At the Australian Open, Hewitt was defeated in the first round, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 61-7, 7–9, by Argentina's David Nalbandian. Hewitt was up two sets to one and during the fourth set had the chance to finish off the match, when the scores were 3–1 and 0–40 in Hewitt's favour, but failed to capitalise on the situation. Furthermore, Hewitt had two match point opportunities in the final set to close out victory. However, one of these was met with an excellent drop shot from Nalbandian, and he went on to save the other, securing victory.
After the Australian Open, Hewitt participated in the SAP Open, an ATP World Tour 250 event. He defeated his first-round opponent Björn Phau, 6–3, 6–3, and proceeded to the second round against Brian Dabul. Hewitt had some problems with Dabul, losing the first set, but managed to defeat him, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played against former US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro, who was on a comeback from a wrist injury. In a weak performance, Hewitt lost, 2–6, 3–6.
The next tournament that Hewitt took part in was the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, an ATP World Tour 500 event in Memphis, Tennessee. Hewitt played Lu Yen-Hsun in the opening round, which he won, 6–4, 7–6. He advanced to the second round against Adrian Mannarino. Despite losing the first set, Hewitt defeated Mannarino, 6–7, 7–5, 6–0. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt played top seed Andy Roddick. Despite being a set up, Hewitt lost the match, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6.
Hewitt then played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. His first-round opponent was Chinese Taipei's Lu Yen-Hsun. This was the second time in a row the two had played each other in the first round, and he suffered a shock 2-6, 3-6 defeat. This was to be Hewitt's last event on the ATP Tour for over three months after he underwent surgery on his left foot.
Hewitt began his 2012 season at the Hopman Cup. the opening singles tie against Spain, Hewitt lost to Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. For the mixed doubles match, Hewitt partnered with Jarmila Gajdosova. They lost the match in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9, despite being 5-1 up in the final set tie-breaker. In the second tie against France, Hewitt lost to Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. He lost in mixed doubles in straight sets. In the final tie against China, Hewitt defeated Wu Di in straight sets, 6-4 7-5, and won the mixed doubles. His next tournament was the Apia International, where he lost in the first round against Serbian fifth seed Viktor Troicki, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6. His next tournament is the 2012 Australian Open, where he was awarded a wildcard. Hewitt won his first round defeating Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in almost four hours: 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. In the second round, he beat Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 who retired due to a groin injury. In the third round, he will play Canadian Milos Raonic.
Hewitt is a keen supporter of Australian rules football, having played the game earlier in his career and is the No.1 ticket holder for the Adelaide Crows. He once had a close friendship with Crows star Andrew McLeod, but this broke down over much public controversy in 2005. It was not long before this that Hewitt produced a DVD titled Lleyton Hewitt: The Other Side which precipitated the falling out between him and McLeod over certain filming of Aboriginal sites.
Hewitt and Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters started a relationship in January 2000, during the Australian Open. The two announced their engagement just before Christmas 2003, but separated in October 2004, cancelling a planned February 2005 wedding.
On 30 January 2005, shortly after losing the 2005 Australian Open final to Marat Safin, Hewitt proposed to Australian actress Bec Cartwright after they had been dating for just six weeks. They married on 21 July 2005 and have three children. Their first child, a daughter named Mia Rebecca Hewitt, was born on 29 November 2005. Their second child, a son named Cruz Lleyton Hewitt, was born on 11 December 2008. Their third child, a daughter named Ava Sydney, was born on 19 October 2010.
In late 2008, to extend his tennis career and reduce the amount of tax he would otherwise have had to pay, the couple relocated for the European and North American season to their future holiday home in the Old Fort Bay estate, in Nassau, Bahamas.
Hewitt maintains a second residence in Nassau, Bahamas where he stays during off-time in the American hard court season.
Lleyton Hewitt has been involved in a number of controversial incidents of which the most notorious was his protest to Swiss umpire Andreas Egli regarding an African-American linesman, who Hewitt insinuated was biased in favour of James Blake at the 2001 U.S. Open. Hewitt protested: "Look at him (the linesman) and you tell me what the similarity is (beckoning towards Blake)", and "I want him off the court, I've only been foot-faulted up one end. Look at what he's done." Hewitt later denied accusations of racism, asserting that he was not "racial (sic) in any way.
At the French Open of the same year, Hewitt was involved in yet more controversy when he twice called match officials "spastic." Following his outbursts, a complaint was received from the Cerebral Palsy Association in Australia. Hewitt later apologised, stating "If I did say that in the heat of the battle, then I apologise. I didn't intend to offend anyone.
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