Best Indian Tennis Players Ever

Though Tennis isn’t as popular as Cricket, it still has its own fanbase. And why not? We have some top-notch talent in the field. Our tennis players, both already established and the upcoming, work hard year in and year out to bring us championship trophies and medals.
From the Olympics to Asian Games, these amazing sports stars have made the nation proud every single time. They portray all of India’s burning spirit and unbending determination! Let’s take a look at some of them –

LEANDER PAES

Leander Paes’ Bronze Medal in Tennis singles in 1996 Atlanta Olympics was India’s second Individual Olympic medal after a period of 44 years! It was a great feat in itself but his list of achievements is far longer than this. One of the most successful Indian Tennis players of all time, Leander Paes has been awarded a number of awards including 1990 Arjuna Award, 1996 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, 2001 Padma Shree and also 2014Padma Bhushan.

MAHESH BHUPATHI

Active in the field since the mid-90s, Mahesh Bhupathi is one of the most successful Indian tennis players especially when it comes to the doubles format. He won the Australian Open Grand Slam in 1997 in the mixed doubles category. It also happened to be the first time a grand slam title was won by an Indian. Mahesh Bhupathi is also the founder of the International Premier Tennis League.

SANIA MIRZA

Everyone knows her and almost everyone loves this talented tennis star that was India’s pride on more than one occasion. Though she retired from Singles in 2013, she is still active in the doubles format and has even reached rank one under it. She is the most successful Indian woman tennis player ever and WTA ranked her as the number 1 tennis player in India overall.

VIJAY AMRITRAJ

If you follow Tennis, you must know about the Amritraj Brothers, the famous trio who dominated the Indian Tennis scene. Among them, Vijay Amritraj has a long list of achievements with a career beat ranking of 16 in singles. He also won 14 double titles in ATP Tour and was conferred Padma Shree in 1983.

RAMANATHAN KRISHNAN

A legendary player active during the 1950s and 60s- Ramanathan Krishnan is the only Indian player to have achieved a place in the top 10 world rankings. He was conferred with numerous awards for his contribution to Indian sports including the 1961 Arjuna Award, 1962 Padma Shree and 1967 Padma Bhushan.