Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players ever. He holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men's doubles and ten mixed doubles

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

titles. He holds a career Grand Slam in men's doubles and mixed doubles, and achieved the rare men's/mixed double at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships. His mixed doubles

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

title in 2010 made him the second man (after Rod Laver) to win Wimbledon titles in three decades. Paes received the

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Governm ...

award, India's highest sporting honor, in 1996–97; the Arjuna Award in 1990; the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

award in 2001; and India's third-highest civilian award, the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

prize in January 2014, for his outstanding contributions tennis. He won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

for India in men's singles at the 1996

Atlanta Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He competed in consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2016, making him the first Indian and the only tennis player to compete in seven Olympic Games. He is a former Davis Cup team captain, and holds the record for the most Davis Cup doubles wins with 43 victories. He played in

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

for the

Washington Kastles The Washington Kastles is one of eight franchises that compete in World TeamTennis. Based in Washington, D.C., since 2008, the Kastles won the WTT championship in the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons. The team is named for Kastle S ...

. He was on the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 championship teams and was named Male MVP for 2009 and 2011. He is the sports ambassador of the Indian state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. Paes announced his retirement from professional tennis in 2020, before postponing his final season to 2021 following the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympics.

Early life

Paes was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, India, on 17 June 1973 to

Vece Paes Miercurea Nirajului ( hu, Nyárádszereda ) is a town in Mureș County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The following seven villages are administered by the town: * Beu / Székelybő * Dum ...

, a Goan, and, Jennifer Paes, from Calcutta. He studied at

La Martiniere Calcutta ''La Martiniere ''(informally known as LMC) is an elite, independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. It comprises two single-gender boys and girls schools. It was established in 1836 in accordance with the will of ...

Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School MCC Higher Secondary School (full name: Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School) is located in Chetpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1835 and has a long, and illustrious history, including having produced many citizens ...

and at St. Xavier's College. His parents were both athletes. Vece was a midfield squad member in the bronze medal-winning Indian field hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics although he did not personally receive a medal as he did not take to the field in any of India's matches. His mother captained the Indian basketball team in the 1980 Asian basketball championship. Paes is a direct descendant of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet

Michael Madhusudan Dutta Michael Madhusudan Dutt ((Bengali: মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত); (25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature. Early life Dutt ...

through his mother. Paes enrolled with the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

) in 1985, where he was coached by Dave O'Meara. Paes earned international fame when he won the 1990 Wimbledon Junior title and reached No. 1 in the junior world rankings at age 17. In 2010, he joined the Board of Directors of

Olympic Gold Quest Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) is a program of the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games, a Not for Profit (Section 25) Company, which is committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and the best athletes in the world thus h ...

, a foundation co-founded by

Geet Sethi Geet Siriram Sethi (born 17 April 1961) of India is a professional player of English billiards who dominated the sport throughout much of the 1990s. He is also a notable amateur (ex-pro) snooker player. He is a five-time winner of the professio ...

and

Prakash Padukone Prakash Padukone (born 10 June 1955) is a former Indian badminton player. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1980; the same year he became the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 ...

to support talented Indian athletes.

Career

Early career (1991–1997)

Paes first won titles at the Junior US Open and the Junior Wimbledon. He turned professional in 1991. He became number 1 in the world junior rankings. In 1992, he reached the quarter finals of the doubles event in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with

Ramesh Krishnan Ramesh Krishnan (born 5 June 1961) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from India. As a junior player in the late 1970s, he won the singles titles at both, Wimbledon and the French Open. He went on to reach three Grand S ...

. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics he beat

Fernando Meligeni Fernando Ariel Meligeni (born April 12, 1971), nicknamed ''Fininho'' (diminutive form in Portuguese for ''thin''), is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. He won 3 singles titles and reached the semi-finals of both the 1999 French Ope ...

to win the

, the first Indian to win an individual medal since KD Jadhav won bronze at the 1952

Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. Paes cited the match as one of his greatest performances, in part because his wrist was severely injured. He was awarded the highest sporting honor by the government of India, the

in 1996. His first successful year in the ATP circuit came in 1993, when he partnered with

Sébastien Lareau Sébastien Lareau (; born April 27, 1973) is a former professional tennis player. He became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam title by winning the 1999 US Open men's doubles with his American partner Alex O'Brien. As a singles playe ...

to reach the US Open doubles semifinal. After a moderate season in 1994, he reached the quarter-finals of the

1995 Australian Open The 1995 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Flinders Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 83rd edition of the Australian Open and was held from 16 through 29 January 1995. Seniors Men's s ...

doubles with

Kevin Ullyett Kevin Ullyett (born 23 May 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour was in men's doubles. Ullyett won 34 doubles titles during his career, including two Grand Slams at the 2001 US Open and t ...

. From 1996, he partnered with fellow Indian

Mahesh Bhupathi Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles, he ...

. Their first year was not successful, especially in the Grand Slams, reaching the round of 32 only at Wimbledon. 1997 proved to be a much better year for the team, reaching the US Open semifinals. Paes climbed the doubles ranking from no. 89 at the beginning of the year to no. 14 at year-end. That year he made his best singles performance in a Grand Slam, losing in the third round of the 1997 US Open to Cédric Pioline after beating Carlos Costa and

Arnaud Boetsch Arnaud Benjamin Boetsch (born 1 April 1969) is a French former tennis player who turned professional in 1987. Known for his stylish single-handed backhand, he won 3 career titles, reaching his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 12 in Apr ...

Rise in doubles (1998–2002)

Paes/Bhupathi grew stronger in 1998,and reached the semifinals of three Grand Slams, the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

, the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

and the US Open. Paes had two of his biggest singles results. The first one came by winning his only ATP singles title at Newport, and the second was beating

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

, 6–3, 6–4 at the New Haven ATP tournament at their only meeting. In 1999, the duo reached the finals of all four Grand Slams, winning Wimbledon and the French, thus becoming the first Indians to win a doubles event at a Grand Slam. Paes teamed up with

Lisa Raymond Lisa Raymond (born August 10, 1973) is an American retired professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. Raymond has eleven Grand Slam titles to her name: six in women's doubles and five in mixed doubles. On J ...

to win the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon. The year marked his ascent to the no. 1 doubles ranking. The following year, Paes partnered with

for the Australian and

Jan Siemerink Johannes Martinus ("Jan") Siemerink (born 14 April 1970) is a retired tennis player from the Netherlands. The former Dutch Davis Cup captain reached a career-high ATP ranking of 14. Career Tennis As a junior player, Siemerink was the Dutch 18 ...

for the French, losing in the first round on both occasions. Paes again teamed with Bhupathi for the US Open, but lost in the first round again. The duo had a disappointing second round exit to Australian duo of

Todd Woodbridge Todd Andrew Woodbridge, OAM (born 2 April 1971) is an Australian former professional tennis player and current sports broadcaster with the Nine Network. Woodbridge is best known for his successful Doubles partnerships with Mark Woodforde (n ...

and

Mark Woodforde Mark Raymond Woodforde, OAM (born 23 September 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of " The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge. Woodforde was born in Adelaide, and joine ...

at the Sydney Olympics. Paes was given the honor of carrying the

Indian Flag The national flag of India, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of India saffron, white and India green; with the ', a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form ...

at the opening ceremony. In spite of winning the French in 2001, Bhupathi/Paes had first-round exits in the other three Grand Slams. Paes was awarded the

Padmashri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2001. The duo of Paes and Bhupathi won the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. In 2002, Leander paired up with Michael Hill with moderate success. Leander Martina

2003–2007

After 2003 Paes increasingly focused on doubles. He won the mixed doubles events at the Australian and Wimbledon with Martina Navratilova, both in 2003. Weeks later, Paes was admitted to the

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

for a suspected brain tumour that was later found to be neurocysticercosis, a parasitic brain infection. He had to miss the US Open, but recovered by the end of that year. In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, he paired up with Bhupathi, failing again at the semifinals stage. His next Grand Slam success was in the US Open doubles event in 2006 with

Martin Damm Martin Damm Sr. (born 1 August 1972) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known as a doubles player (his highest ranking being No. 5 in the world in April 2007). His highest singles ranking was No. 42 in A ...

. Paes led the Indian tennis team at the Doha Asian Games in 2006 and won two golds in the men's doubles (with Bhupathi) and mixed doubles (with

Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles i ...

). Paes maintained his doubles ranking in the top 20 in the world between 2005 and 2007. With wins in the Rotterdam and Indian Wells, Paes took his doubles tally to 38.

2008

Paes/Bhupathi took part in men's doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals by

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...

and

Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...

, who went on to win gold. With

Cara Black Cara Cavell Black (born 17 February 1979) is a Zimbabwean former professional tennis player. Black was primarily a doubles specialist, winning 60 WTA Tour and 11 ITF doubles titles. A former doubles world No. 1, she won ten major titles. By ...

he won the 2008 US Open mixed doubles title.

2009

In 2009, he won the French Open and US Open Men's doubles titles with Lukáš Dlouhý and was the runner-up in mixed at the US Open.

2010

He began the 2010 season in good form, again winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title with

. This was the pair's third consecutive Grand Slam final and the fourth overall.

2012

Paes and

Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...

's 2012 Wimbledon tournament ended when the duo lost to

Ivan Dodig Ivan Dodig (; born 2 January 1985) is a Croatian professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He is a six-time Grand Slam champion, having won men's doubles titles at the 2015 French Open with Marcelo Melo, and the 2021 Au ...

and Marcelo Melo. Paes and

Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...

reached the finals of the Wimbledon mixed doubles after beating

Bob Bryan Robert Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. He has won twenty-three Grand Slam titles: 16 in men's doubles and 7 in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin ...

and

Liezel Huber Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African-American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Blac ...

, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 on 7 July. They lost in the final to

and

Mike Bryan Michael Carl Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. With his twin brother Bob, he was the world's top doubles player for more than nine years, first achieving the top ranking in Septem ...

3–6, 7–5, 4–6. In the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, the Indian pair (

Vishnu Vardhan Vishnu Vardhan (born 27 July 1987), also known as J. Vishnuvardhan, is a professional tennis player from India. He won bronze medal in men's doubles at 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou, China. He paired-up with and Sania Mirza for mixed doubles an ...

) lost to French team

Michaël Llodra Michaël Llodra (; born 18 May 1980) is a French former professional tennis player. He was a successful doubles player with three Grand Slam championships and an Olympic silver medal, and has also had success in singles, winning five career titl ...

and

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...

, 6–7, 6–4, 3–6. Paes and Štěpánek advanced to the finals at the 2012 US Open after their Spanish opponents, Marcel Granollers and

Marc López Marc López Tarrés (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish retired professional tennis player and coach. His career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 106 (May 2004) and world No. 3 in doubles (January 2013). Partnering Feliciano López, M ...

, retired because of injury. However the duo lost in the final of US Open 2012 to the

Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...

. Paes and Štěpánek kicked off the ATP World Tour Finals with a win against Pakistan's

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (Punjabi, ; born 17 Mar 1980) is a Pakistani professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is the only Pakistani player ever to reach a Grand Slam final, having done so in both men's and mixed doubles at the ...

and Dutchman Jean Julien Rojer, 6–4, 7–5. They made it to the semifinals, where they were eliminated by eventual runners-up Bhupathi and

Rohan Bopanna Rohan Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player. His singles career-high ranking was world No. 213 in 2007 and his career-high ranking in doubles was world No. 3 on 22 July 2013. He has been a member of the Indian ...

2013

Paes/Štěpánek won the 2013 US Open, defeating Alexander Peya and

Bruno Soares Bruno Fraga Soares (; born 27 February 1982) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. A doubles specialist, Soares won six major titles, the Australian Open and US Open in 2016 alongside Jamie Murray, and ...

6–1, 6–3. This was Paes' 3rd US Open men's doubles title and 14th Grand Slam title. In January 2014,

announced its 3rd Highest Civilian Award

for Paes.

2014

Paes won the 2014 Malaysian Open men's doubles with

Marcin Matkowski Marcin Matkowski (; born 15 January 1981) is a Polish former professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. He played college tennis at UCLA, where Jean-Julien Rojer was one of his teammates. Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg won t ...

2015

Paes started his 25th season on the ATP World Tour by partnering with Klaasen to reach the Chennai final, where the team lost to Lu/Marray. On 17 January, he won his 55th tour-level title in his 93rd final at Auckland, again with Klaasen. The team recorded three-match tie break victories en route to the final. With the win, Paes had won at least one trophy every season since 1997. On 1 February, Paes captured his seventh Grand Slam mixed doubles crown at the 2015 Australian Open with

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...

. It was his 15th major crown overall and his third mixed doubles triumph at Melbourne Park. The pair beat defending champions Daniel Nestor and

Kristina Mladenovic Kristina "Kiki" Mladenovic (; sr, Кристина "Кики" Младеновић, Kristina "Kiki" Mladenović, ; born 14 May 1993) is a French professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a nine-time Grand Slam c ...

in the final. As No. 7 seed with Klaasen in men's doubles, Paes lost to eventual champions Bolelli/Fognini in the second round. At the 2015 French Open, Paes started a new partnership with Daniel Nestor. The pair crashed out in the third round; however, Paes became just the seventh male player in Open Era to complete 700 doubles wins. At

Wimbledon 2015 Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, Paes again teamed up with Hingis to win the mixed doubles championship. The final 6–1, 6–1 score against fifth seeds Alexander Peya and

Tímea Babos Tímea Babos (; born 10 May 1993) is a Hungarian professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles, having won the 2018 and 2020 Australian Opens, as well as the Fre ...

came after only 41 minutes. Paes/Nestor reached the third round. By winning his 4th Wimbledon

mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...

title, Paes shared the record for men's titles in the open era with

Owen Davidson Owen Keir Davidson (born 4 October 1943) is a former professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside Billie Jean King, Davidson won eight grand slam mixed doubles titles. In 1967 he won a calendar year slam for mixed doubles, wh ...

. On 12 September 2015, Paes won the mixed doubles at the 2015 US Open with Hingis, defeating

Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...

and

Bethanie Mattek-Sands Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles (five in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles), and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former w ...

in three sets.

2016

On 3 June 2016, Leander Paes completed his Career Grand Slam in mixed by winning the 2016 French Open with Hingis, thus joining an elite league of players. He broke Davidson's record for most men's titles. Paes qualified for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Men's Doubles and partnered with

. They lost in the first round to the Polish pair of

and

Łukasz Kubot Łukasz Kubot (; born 16 May 1982) is a Polish professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2014 Australian Open with Robert Lindstedt, as well as the 2017 W ...

. He later paired up with Andre Begemann, where they reached the final in the

Winston-Salem Open The Winston-Salem Open is a men's professional tennis tournament played on the ATP Tour at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the United States. It made its debut at Winston-Salem in 2011 and is part of the 250 tier of ev ...

. This pair lost in the first round of the 2016 US Open. He turned up for the Davis Cup against Spain with

Saketh Myneni Saketh Myneni (born 19 October 1987) is an Indian professional tennis player. He is conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2017 and represents India in the Davis Cup. He won a gold medal in Mixed doubles and a silver medal in Men's do ...

, losing to

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...

and

in 4 sets.

2017

Paes played in the 2017 season with his 111th partner, Andre Sa. The duo lost to the Indian pair of

Purav Raja Purav Raja ( ; born 7 December 1985) is an Indian tennis player. He specializes in doubles and competes on the ATP World Tour. He has 2 ATP world tour level titles in men's doubles. He represents India in the Davis Cup. Personal and early life ...

and

Divij Sharan Divij Sharan (born 2 March 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. He specialises in doubles and competes on the ATP World Tour. He has won 5 ATP World Tour titles in men's doubles and represents India in the Davis Cup. He won a gold med ...

in the first round of

Aircel Chennai Open The Maharashtra Open (known as Tata Open Maharashtra for sponsorship reasons) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pune, India. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series on the ATP Tour. The inaugural event w ...

in straight sets. With this loss, Paes moved down to 64th in doubles ranks. Though India won their Davis Cup tie against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Paes and his last-minute partner,

, lost to the New Zealanders

Artem Sitak Artem Yurievich Sitak ( ; russian: Артём Юрьевич Ситак, Artyom Sitak; born 8 February 1986) is a Russian-born New Zealand professional tennis player. On 11 August 2008, he reached his highest Association of Tennis Profe ...

/ Michael Venus. Paes and

were kept as reserves by new, non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi for the tie against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. Eventually, Paes was dropped from the final four, which created controversy. Paes reached the semis of the Dubai Open and at

Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...

. Paes then played a series of challenger events, never getting his ranking above 49th. He played with

Adil Shamasdin Adil Shamasdin ( ; born May 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 41 on June 26, 2017. Tennis career Shamasdin's junior career saw him finish ranked No. ...

Scott Lipsky Scott Lipsky (born August 14, 1981 in Merrick, New York) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. As a player, Lipsky was primarily a doubles specialist. As a junior, Lipsky was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in singles in 1995, a ...

, and

. It was the first time since 1996 that Paes failed to win a title or reach the final at an ATP tour event in a season.

2018

Paes continued his partnership with Raja, losing the

Maharashtra Open The Maharashtra Open (known as Tata Open Maharashtra for sponsorship reasons) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pune, India. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series on the ATP Tour. The inaugural event ...

in the first round to defending champions Bopanna/

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (born 20 October 1988) is an Indian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of No. 64 achieved on 18 March 2019. He won the doubles title with Rohan Bopanna at the 2017 Chennai Open, in a historic final ...

. In the

, Paes/Raja lost in the round of 16. Paes along with

James Cerretani Jamie Cerretani, (born October 2, 1981) is an American professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, he has won four ATP World Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Profession ...

finished as runner up in the Dubai Open. Paes was recalled to India's Davis Cup squad to play against China. On 7 April 2018, Paes became the most successful player in Davis Cup history with his 43rd doubles victory. After going 0–2 down, Paes/Bopanna scripted India's comeback and in the end, India won the tie 3–2. After this, Paes skipped clay and grass court seasons. Paes was selected for the 2018 Asian Games, but the day before the Games started, he opted out citing the lack of a doubles specialist to accompany him. Paes/Cerretani played in several Challenger tournaments, before losing in the first round of the US Open. Paes also played Challengers with

Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela (; born June 21, 1987) is a Mexican professional tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each ...

2019

Paes/Reyes-Varela started the 2019 season at the

. The duo lost a close quarter-final to the eventual champions, Bopanna/

, 17–15 in a match tie-break. Paes/Reyes-Varela then finished as runners-up in the Da Nang Challenger before losing in the first round of the

. Paes reached the semi-finals of the Hall of Fame Championship in July 2019.

Davis Cup

Paes started his Davis Cup career in 1990, when he partnered

Zeeshan Ali Zeeshan Ali (born 1 January 1970) is a former Indian Davis Cup player who also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The right-hander reached his highest singles ATP ranking on 12 December 1988, when he became the number 126 of th ...

in doubles to beat the Japanese team in a five-set encounter. He played a key role on the Indian team that reached the World Group from 1991 to 1998. He was part of the Indian team that reached the semifinals 1993 with wins against Switzerland and France, eventually losing to Australia. In singles, his major wins came against the French duo of

and

Henri Leconte Henri Leconte (born 4 July 1963) is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. Leconte ...

in 1993,

Wayne Ferreira Wayne Richard Ferreira (born 15 September 1971) is a South African former professional tennis player and current tennis coach. Career As a junior player, Ferreira was ranked world no. 1 junior doubles player and no. 6 junior singles player. He ...

in 1994, and

Goran Ivanišević Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He is the only player to win a Wimbledon singles title as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001 while ranked world No. 125, after ...

in 1995 when India defeated Croatia, beating

in 1996 to defeat Netherlands, and

Jiří Novák Jiří Novák (; born 22 March 1975) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia but resides nowadays in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Career Novák turned professional in 1993 and won seven singles and 18 doubles ...

in 1997. He teamed up with Bhupathi to beat Hirszon/Ivanisevic of Croatia in 1995, Damm/ Korda of the Czech Republic in 1997, Massú/

Ríos Rios, Ríos or Riós are Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician surnames. The name has numerous origins. In Germany, Italy, France, UK, and the Americas the Ríos surname can also be found in the surname history books . The name was derived from the S ...

of Chile in 1997, Broad/ Henman in 1998, and Aspelin/ Björkman of Sweden in 2005. In 2007, Leander had three wins (two doubles and one singles) and no losses. In 1993, he defeated No. 25 Arnaud Boetsch in straight sets on clay. Paes defeated Henri Leconte in the same week, and although Ramesh Krishnan won the tie-breaker against Rodolphe Gilbert, it was Paes who put that match over the top. In 1994, he beat World No. 13

in straight sets, but lost the overall tie.

Year-end finals

Paes appeared with Bhupathi in six season finales. Paes played at the year-end championships with Bhupathi each year from 1997 to 2000, as well as in 2002 and 2011, reaching three finals. In 1997 they lost the final to

Rick Leach Rick Leach (born December 28, 1964) is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won five Grand Slam doubles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Ope ...

and Jonathan Stark. They lost 1999 final to

and

Alex O'Brien Alex O'Brien (born ) is an American former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. He gained the top ranking in May 2000 and was ranked as high as world No. 30 in singles in June 1997. He won his only singles title at New Haven, Connecticut, in 199 ...

. In 2000, they lost the final to

Donald Johnson Donald James "Don" Johnson (born September 9, 1968) is an American former professional tennis player who reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 2002. Although born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he was raised and learned the sport of tennis i ...

and Pieter Norval.

Playing style

Leander has been described as having a strange playing style by

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...

. He varies his play as the match goes on; he is one of the best volleyers and a talented drop shotter. His volleying techniques were learnt from former Indian player Akhtar Ali. He hits a one-handed backhand, which he drives only seldom, preferring instead to slice when returning serve or rallying from his backhand.

Acting career

Leander made his film debut in Ashok Kohli's ''Rajdhani Express'', a socio-political thriller.

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 16 (8 titles, 8 runner-ups)

By winning the 2012 Australian Open title, Paes achieved the career Grand Slam.

Mixed doubles: 18 (10 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Olympic medal matches

Singles: 1 (1 bronze medal)

;Bronze medal final

Doubles: 1

ATP career finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Doubles: 98 (55 titles, 43 runners-up)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 14 (11 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Doubles: 44 (26 titles, 18 runner-ups)

Performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

''Current through the 2020 ATP Tour.''

Mixed doubles

Partnerships

Leander Paes is known for changing partnerships, and he has had over 100 different partners over his career. Paes teamed with 25 players in Grand Slam mixed doubles.

Partners in men's doubles

Partners in Mixed doubles

* These lists consist of players who played with Paes in ATP and ITF-recognized tournaments which include the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, Grand Slams,

World Tour Finals The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...

, World Tour Masters, World Tour Series, Davis Cup ties, and ATP Challengers. They do not include the players who played with him in the other unrecognized

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

s and leagues such as

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

. The order of the players in the list is based on their first partnering with Paes. Sania Mirza had also earlier played with Paes in 2006 and 2010 in the Asian Games and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Other partners

Indian Team

World Team Tennis

Bobby Reynolds Robert Thomas "Bobby" Reynolds (born July 17, 1982) is an American retired professional tennis player who resides in Auburn, Alabama. He was named head men's tennis coach at Auburn University in June 2016. Professional career Reynolds, a nativ ...

Anastasia Rodionova Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

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Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

Rennae Stubbs Rennae Stubbs (born 26 March 1971) is an Australian tennis coach, television commentator, and former professional player. She is the host of The Power Hour on Amazon Prime Video Sports Talk. She worked at the Seven Network between 2011 and 201 ...

Scott Oudsema Scott Oudsema (born July 1, 1986) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Career Oudsema partnered Phillip Simmonds to win the doubles at the 2002 Orange Bowl. He also competed with Simmonds at the 2003 Australian Open a ...

Denis Kudla Denis Kudla ( ; born August 17, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. A product of the Junior Tennis Champions Center, he has won eight Challenger singles titles and nine Challenger doubles titles in his career. His career-high ATP ...

Champions Tennis League

Garbiñe Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (; born 8 October 1993) is a Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. ...

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Partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi

The duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi was nicknamed the ″Indian Express″. Paes' off-and-on partnership with Bhupathi drew constant media attention in their home country. In the 2006 Asian Games, a loss to the Chinese Taipei team in the team event led Leander to question Bhupathi's commitment to Team India. He once stated in an interview that although he and Bhupathi are friends, he did not consider pairing with his former teammate. However, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they reunited for their country, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Federer/Wawrinka. In 2011, the pair won doubles at the

Chennai Open Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. They reunited to play in a Grand Slam Tournament after nine years and claimed runners-up in the 2011 Australian Open and reached the semifinals in the year-end championships. The Indian duo has a 303–103 career record together. They have a high success rate against various top teams. They have a Davis Cup record for the longest doubles winning streak, with 24 straight wins. Paes paired with

at the London Olympics 2012, following Bhupathi and Bopanna 's refusal. Paes threatened to withdraw from the Olympics rather than play with Vardhan, whose world ranking was 296, but withdrew the threat a week later. Paes and Vardhan reached the second round of the tournament, losing to French silver medalists Llodra/Tsonga.

Davis Cup record

The duo has the longest doubles streak in Davis Cup history.
(24 consecutive wins, total 25–2)

References

External links