AN ENDURING LEGACY
To watch Leander Paes wield a tennis racquet was to witness a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Creative and tenacious, equipped with sharp reflexes and an uncanny ability to come up with a great shot when it mattered most, Paes’ doubles prowess mesmerized fans, partners and opponents.
The longevity of his career was extraordinary. Paes captured his first of 18 doubles majors in 1999 and his last in 2016. In men’s doubles, Paes won eight majors – three apiece at Roland-Garros and the US Open, one at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. In mixed, he took another ten – four in London, three in Australia, two in New York, one in Paris. Further proof of Paes’ versatility was that those victories were earned with eight different partners – four men and four women. In another team event, the Olympics, Paes also did his home country of India proud when he earned a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Games. That one came in singles.
FAMILY LESSONS
A strong case can be made that Paes’ extraordinary team-play skills go back literally to his origins. Paes’ parents, Jennifer and Vece, were both competing at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Vece played field hockey for India, and Jennifer captained the Indian women’s basketball team. Paes credits his mother with teaching him the tenets of team play. Speaking about her influence in a 2024 International Tennis Hall of Fame interview, Paes said, “With mom teaching me these leadership skills on how to get along with different kinds of people from different religions, from different cultures, from different dialects, different languages, because mom had to deal with that as a captain of the national basketball team, I realized that as much as I talk, that being a good listener was very important. And I would always, in a team setting, always listen to what the team had to say.”
From his father, who earned his living as a doctor of sports science, young Leander learned much about the discipline required to become a successful athlete. “He would make me take my pulse every single morning as I woke up for my resting heart rate,” said Paes, “and then my training heart rate and then my maximum heart rate. And the night before I slept, again my pulse to see how much I've recovered.”
Building off that parental base, Paes had the foundation necessary to become a devoted student of the game. Early on, Paes sharpened his skills at the Brittania Amritraj Tennis Academy. There he met Dave O’Meara, who played a major role in shaping his game. Throughout his career, Paes worked with many great tennis minds, including Gene Mayer, Bob Carmichael, and Rick Leach.
EARLY CAREER
Though he would eventually become a superstar in doubles, Paes first made a name for himself in singles. In 1991, off the heels of singles title runs at Wimbledon in 1990 and the US Open in 1991, Paes was the number one-ranked junior in the world. Eager to emulate his parents’ accomplishments, Paes made the Olympics a personal priority. At the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Paes and his compatriot, Ramesh Krishnan, reached the quarterfinals of the doubles. Four years later, in Atlanta, Paes went even further. Winning four matches in the singles event, Paes advanced to the semis, where he fought well versus eventual champion Andre Agassi before losing 7-6, 6-3. Following that defeat, Paes competed for the bronze medal versus Fernando Meligeni of Brazil. After losing the first set, Paes rebounded strongly. Serving at 5-4 in the third, with his father watching from the second row, Paes played one of the best games of his career, boldly striking serves and volleys to close out the match and become the first Indian athlete since 1952 to earn an Olympic medal as an individual. His one ATP singles title came in 1998 at Newport, on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
A WELL OILED MACHINE
From 1997 to 2015, Paes won 54 ATP doubles titles. It was an exceptionally collaborative journey; Paes’ partners representing an eclectic mix of personalities and playing styles. His first two majors, earned in 1999 at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, came with a fellow Indian, Mahesh Bhupathi. Paes describes them as a “well-oiled machine.” True as that was with Bhupathi, it was all similar with Paes’ other pairings, be it more men’s titles with Radek Stepanek, Martin Damm, and Lukas Dlouhy, or his mixed triumphs alongside Lisa Raymond, Cara Black, and a pair of Martinas, Hall of Famers Navratilova and Hingis.
A DAVIS CUP LEGEND
The Davis Cup was also a priority of Paes. Playing ties in thirty years, spanning four different decades starting in 1990, Paes compiled a match record of 93-35 (48-22 in singles, 45-13 in doubles), setting the record for most doubles wins in Davis Cup history. His combined singles and doubles wins also rank as the fourth best overall. Later he served as the team’s captain.
Through all his triumphs and struggles, Paes has always maintained a strong perspective. Perhaps one contributing factor to this was a major health scare. In 2003, Paes was diagnosed with a brain lesion. Fortunately, this soon proved benign, and Paes was able to rapidly regain his health and fitness.
“I'm very grateful to the lines of a tennis court and the arenas that I've played in, for giving this young boy a dream to live up to,” said Paes. “A passion, a career, and a life.”
