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India’s association with the sport of tennis has seen a huge upturn in the past few decades due to the sheer number of Grand Slam titles that have been won by the country’s tennis players. While former players namely Vijay Amritraj, Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan did indeed help bring about a revolution in the country with their performances in the Grand Slams, they failed to win any tennis major during their playing careers.
The interest generated by the players of the past led to an emergence of a host of Indian talent in the years to come, but there has only been one player whose success has been more consistent than the rest ever since he turned pro in 1991 – Leander Paes. The 42-year-old is still playing the game with the same vigour in 2015 and has shown no signs of slowing down just yet.
A youth product of the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy in Chennai, the Calcutta-born Paes first showed glimpses of his talent when he rose to the number 1 spot in the World junior rankings in 1991 courtesy US Open and Wimbledon wins. His senior career began soon after but was only moderately successful for the first few years, as he tried to establish himself as a singles and a doubles player.
The best moment of Paes’ singles career came about when he beat Fernando Meligeni to win the bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, after entering the match with a wrist injury. He was awarded a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the Indian Government for his sporting contribution to the country in 1996 and would not go on to achieve any more majors in this arena, although the failure did signal the beginning of something even greater on the horizon.
The Indian Express established himself as a top doubles player towards the turn of the 21st century and one who was notoriously well known for his partnership-changing ways. He has had more than 100 different partners in men’s doubles tennis and 23 players in the Grandslam Mixed Doubles, which have also included several legendary players from the world of tennis. This strategic move by the doubles specialist has allowed him to prolong his career and still be successful at the highest level, something which is quite evident by the events that followed in the subsequent years.
Starting off with a French Open and Wimbledon wins in 1999 with Mahesh Bhupathi, Paes picked up 17 Grand Slams in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles events over the last 16 years. His trophy-laden cabinet includes four Australian Open titles, 3 French Open titles, 5 Wimbledon and as many US Open titles, which he won with the likes of Lukáš Dlouhý, Martin Damm, Radek Št?pánek, Lisa Raymond, Martina Navratilova, Cara Black and most recently, Martina Hingis.
Paes’ recent victory along with Hingis in the 2015 US Open final made it their third grand slam title in this calendar year after the Indo-Swiss duo picked up the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier. The victory also takes Paes’ Grand Slam tally to 9 in the mixed doubles circuit, which makes him the most successful mixed doubles player in the Open Era.
| Year | Grand Slam Event | Category | Partner |
| 1999 | French Open | Men’s doubles | Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) |
| 1999 | Wimbledon | Men’s doubles | Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) |
| 1999 | Wimbledon | Mixed doubles | Lisa Raymond (USA) |
| 2001 | French Open | Men’s doubles | Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) |
| 2003 | Australian Open | Mixed doubles | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
| 2003 | Wimbledon | Mixed doubles | Martina Navratilova (USA) |
| 2006 | US Open | Men’s doubles | Martin Damm (CZE) |
| 2008 | US Open | Mixed doubles | Cara Black (ZIM) |
| 2009 | French Open | Men’s doubles | Lukáš Dlouhý (CZE) |
| 2009 | US Open | Men’s doubles | Lukáš Dlouhý (CZE) |
| 2010 | Australian Open | Mixed doubles | Cara Black (ZIM) |
| 2010 | Wimbledon | Mixed doubles | Cara Black (ZIM) |
| 2012 | Australian Open | Men’s doubles | Radek Št?pánek (CZE) |
| 2013 | US Open | Men’s doubles | Radek Št?pánek (CZE) |
| 2015 | Australian Open | Mixed doubles | Martina Hingis (SUI) |
| 2015 | Wimbledon | Mixed doubles | Martina Hingis (SUI) |
| 2015 | US Open | Mixed doubles | Martina Hingis (SUI) |
In comparison to other Indian Grand Slam winners, Paes is easily ahead of his countrymen. His 17 slams is five more than that of his former compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi, who has won 12 majors. Sania Mirza is next as she has won only five tennis majors since turning pro in 2003, with the most recent win coming in the US Open women’s doubles event along with Martina Hingis.
Based on these statistics, there can be no debate that Leander Paes is the greatest Indian tennis player of all time. His incredible record at the top has also confirmed him as one of the greatest players to have ever played tennis and makes him a true ambassador for the sport in the country.
