Virgona started his career as a professional at the
Ballarat real tennis club before moving to
Melbourne at the age of 18. Steve gained much success early by playing doubles, and reaching the final of the British Open in 2001 and winning the doubles at the
1998 US Open. Virgona worked as a professional in
London, primarily at the Burroughs club, before moving back to Melbourne in 2004. After securing a position in
Philadelphia in 2006, Virgona's tennis improved markedly and his ranking rose to world number 2. He defeated world champion
Robert Fahey twice in 2006, but lost his world championship campaign to
Tim Chisholm that year. Steve's tennis continued to improve, winning the Australian Open, and entered the 2008 world championships as the favourite to challenge Fahey. He lost narrowly to
Camden Riviere in the final eliminator, and got revenge soon after in the US Open. In 2010, he won the
US Open doubles championship, partnered by
Ben Matthews. ==References==