Junior

Cooper reached final in 1954 Junior Wimbledon losing to Ramanathan Krishnan in Boys' Singles tournaments.

Amateur

Cooper won his first Grand Slam singles title at the 1957 Australian Championships where he defeated compatriot Neale Fraser in the final in four sets.^[3][4] He was runner-up at Wimbledon in 1957, losing the final to Lew Hoad.^[5] He reached the 1957 U.S. Open final where he lost to Mal Anderson.^[6] Cooper was ranked amateur world number one in 1957 by Ned Potter,^[7] Lance Tingay,^[8] Adrian Quist^[9] and Yvon Petra.^[10]

Cooper played his best year in 1958, becoming one of only eleven men to win three of the four Grand Slam events in the same year. He successfully defended his Australian singles title after a straight-sets victory in the final against Malcolm Anderson.^[3] In July, he won his first and only Wimbledon title after beating Fraser in the final. The pair were roommates at that year's tournament and ate breakfast together on the morning of their match.^[11] He followed up with a first singles title at the U.S. Championships, again defeating Anderson in the final.^[11] Additionally, Cooper was a semifinalist at the French Championship, losing to Luis Ayala in five sets after leading by 2 sets to love. The defeat prevented him from achieving the Grand Slam that year. It remained the only Major that Cooper did not win in his career.^[12] Cooper was ranked world number one amateur in 1958 by Ned Potter^[13] and Lance Tingay.^[8]

The right-handed Cooper played on the Australian Davis Cup team that won the cup in 1957, and were finalists in 1958.^[14]

Professional

In January 1959, Cooper turned professional after signing a contract with Jack Kramer for a $100,000 guarantee.^[15]

Cooper won his first professional match against Pancho Gonzales at Perth on grass in the Ampol world series of tournaments, and defeated Sedgman in the semifinal, but lost the final to Hoad.^[16] He finished third on the 1959 World Championship 4-man tour, behind Gonzales and Hoad. Cooper was 18–9 against Mal Anderson on the 4-man tour.

In the fall of 1959, he won the Slazenger Professional tournament at Eastbourne, England on grass, defeating Trabert in the semifinal and Hoad in the final in best-of-five set matches.

Cooper won a professional tour of Europe in 1960, the Grand Prix de Europe series. Cooper finished in first place ahead of (2) Gimeno (3) Segura (4) Anderson (5) Olmedo.^[17]

Cooper won the European Cup professional tour of Europe in 1962, with Gimeno again finishing in second place.^[18]

Cooper experienced severe nerve damage in his right arm and was forced to retire at the end of 1962.^[19]

After retiring as a player, Cooper went on to serve as a tennis player development administrator with Tennis Queensland, where he was based for nearly fifty years. He also sat on the board of directors for Tennis Australia.^[20]

Singles: (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

More information Result, Year ...

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1957	Australian Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	6–3, 9–11, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	1957	Wimbledon	Grass	Lew Hoad	2–6, 1–6, 2–6
Loss	1957	U.S. Championships	Grass	Malcolm Anderson	8–10, 5–7, 4–6
Win	1958	Australian Championships (2)	Grass	Malcolm Anderson	7–5, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1958	Wimbledon	Grass	Neale Fraser	3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 13–11
Win	1958	U.S. Championships	Grass	Malcolm Anderson	6–2, 3–6, 4–6, 10–8, 8–6

Close

Doubles: (4 titles, 3 runners-up)

More information Result, Year ...

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1956	French Championships	Clay	Lew Hoad	Don Candy Robert Perry	5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	1957	Australian Championships	Grass	Malcolm Anderson	Lew Hoad Neale Fraser	3–6, 6–8, 4–6
Win	1957	French Championships	Clay	Malcolm Anderson	Don Candy Mervyn Rose	6–3, 6–0, 6–3
Win	1957	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Gardnar Mulloy Budge Patty	4–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–3
Win	1958	Australian Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Roy Emerson Robert Mark	7–5, 6–8, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Loss	1958	Wimbledon	Grass	Neale Fraser	Sven Davidson Ulf Schmidt	4–6, 4–6, 6–8
Win	1958	French Championships	Clay	Neale Fraser	Robert Howe Abe Segal	3–6, 8–6, 6–3, 7–5

Close

Singles