Indian Tennis Players have proved their skill and talent through their exceptional performances in national and international tournaments. This gifted the country with pride and recognition in the field of sports.
In 1908, Sardar Nihal Singh played in the tennis courts for the first time. In 1915, Mohammad Saleem became the first Indian tennis champion by winning the Punjab Championship. Nagu and NS Iyer also left their mark by winning many championships during that time. Ghouse Mohammed got the honour of carrying the Indian Tennis flag in 1920 and reached the Quarter-finals in Wimbledon Tennis Championship in 1938, the first Indian to do so.
Legendary players like AH Fayzee and AA Fayzee, Krishna Prasad, Cotah Ramaswamy, Sumant Misra, Man Mohan Lal, Ramanathan Krishnan soon followed to fetch national glory. Jaideep Mukherjee and Premjit Lall also proved their skills by reaching Davis Cup finals for three times.
Ramanathan Krishnan
During the 1960s, Ramanathan Krishnan was one of the renowned names in Wimbledon, and achieved great heights by his outstanding feats. He won the Wimbledon junior championship in 1954.He has beaten top class international players like Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Neale Fraser. Ramanathan Krishnan conquered Indian tennis. During the 1960s, he also received the Padma Bhushan and the Arjuna Award.
Vijay Amritraj
Vijay Amritraj dominated Indian tennis for almost two years. He was able to reach the Wimbledon Quarter-finals in 1973 and 1981 and also the 1973 and 1974 US Open. In the year of 1980, Amritraj got world no 16 rank. He was also amongst the top 10 players in doubles. For 14 years, Vijay Amritraj was the top most players in Asia.
Ramesh Krishnan
After that, Ramesh Krishnan also showed excellent performances in various international Tennis events and brought glory to India. He was ranked world No.23. Ramesh was also ranked world No 1 in the junior category. Ramesh Krishnan successfully won 13 ATP singles through his brilliant performance.
Leander Paes
Leander Paes is considered to be the most successful player in Mixed Doubles and Men`s Doubles categories. He has won a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics, in 1996 to become the first Indian in more than 4 decades to win an individual medal in the Olympics. Leander Paes, along with Mahesh Bhupathi who was ranked number 1.
Mahesh Bhupathi
In 1995, Mahesh Bhupathi earned All-America honours in singles and doubles. Mahesh participated in the Indian Davis Cup team from 1995 and was ranked at the top in doubles spot in `99 on ATP rankings. Mahesh Bhupathi won a total of 10 Doubles Grand Slam titles with different partners, something that is considered as one of the best achievements for a Tennis player. In men`s doubles, Bhupathi and his partner Leander Paes, won three titles in the French Open, 1999, Wimbledon 1999 and French Open 2001. Also in 2001, along with Paes, Bhupati received the Padma Shri, India`s highest honour, in New Delhi.
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza, one of the tennis sensations, has become a youth icon for her contribution to Indian tennis. She has revamped the state of women tennis players in India. In 1999, Mirza beat Michaela Krajicek and Katerina Bohmova, to win her first major international tournament. Sania Mirza has received numerous awards and accolades for her courageous performances. In 2003 Sania won the women`s Grand Slam title and has become a brand herself in the world of sports.
Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna was ranked world no.13, in 2010 for his stupendous skills. Along with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Bopanna reached the US Open Final and won the Johannesburg Open. Bopanna and Sania Mirza have performed exceptionally well at the Hopman Cup 2007.
Vijay Sundar Prashanth
Vijay Sundar Prashanth is a professional Indian tennis player who won against Indian Davis Cupper Yuki Bhambri at 2015 Aircel Chennai Open. Prashanth has a career high ATP singles ranking of 484 achieved on 23rd February 2015. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of 473 achieved on 14th January 2013.
Asif Ismail
Asif Ismail is a former tennis player who has the rare distinction of representing two different countries in Davis Cup, first India and later Hong Kong.
Sydney Jacob
Sydney Jacob was an Indian born British male tennis player who represented India at the Davis Cup and Olympic Games. He competed in the singles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarterfinal in which he lost to Jean Borotra.
Purav Raja
Purav Raja is an Indian tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. On 30th July 2007, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 813, whilst his highest doubles ranking of 71 was reached on 3rd March 2014.
Sumit Nagal
Sumit Nagal is an Indian tennis player. He won the 2015 Wimbledon boys` doubles title with his Vietnamese partner Ly Hoang Nam, defeating Reilly Opelka.
Fazaluddin Syed
Fazaluddin Syed is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from India. He has competed on the ATP tennis tour, achieving a Top 400 ranking in singles and Top 200 ranking in doubles.
Ankita Raina
Ankita Raina is an Indian tennis player and the current Indian No. 1 in women`s singles. She has won 8 singles and 14 doubles titles on the ITF Women`s Circuit.
Mustafa Ghouse
Mustafa Ghouse is a former Indian tennis player, between 1996 and 2008 representing India on the Davis Cup team. Mustafa Ghouse is also an Asian Games bronze medallist at the 2002 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea with doubles partner Vishal Uppal.
Indian Tennis Players like Somdev Devburman and Rohan Bopanna have already earned a reputation for themselves. Others are Poojashree Venkatesha, Shikha Uberoi, Khanum Haji, Tara Deodhar, Nirupama Sanjeev, Sanaa Bhambri, Natasha Palha and Rutuja Bhosale.
