Wanaro “Bill” N’Godrella was born in in 1949 in Noumea, New Caledonia, in what is now called, an island connectivity of France. He was of Kanak ancestry, one of the Indigenous tribes of New Caledonia. In the 1960s, Australian coach John Hildebrand saw him play on the Mont Coffyn tennis club courts and took him to Melbourne, Australia, where he trained with N’Godrella between the ages of 10 and 18.  

While carrying out his French military service, he joined the Bataillon de Joinville, a sports military unit, where there was a high-level sports center. It was there that he was recognized by the French Tennis Federation. Most active in the 1960s and 1970s, N’Godrella played as a French citizen and was the first and still only Caledonian to participate in the Grand Slam tournaments. He had a stellar year in 1973 when he reached No. 71 in the world reaching the quarter finals in singles at the Australian Open and defeating fifth-seeded Hall of Famer Manuel Orantes in the second round at Roland-Garros. In retirement, he continued to share his passion for tennis, opening a tennis training center with coach and tournament director Gerard Winter in 1987. A legend in his hometown of Noumea, the center court at the ATP Challenger Tour event in his hometown is named after him.