Vijay Amritraj, tennis champion and the man to put India on the international tennis map, and Leander Paes, the men’s doubles tennis champion, have made history. Formally inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the two men have become the 256th and 267th members to join the prestigious group.
The ceremony took place in Newport, Rhode Island, where the two received the honour alongside the veteran tennis journalist Richard Evans, who has chronicled over 200 Majors and who’s also the biographer of Amritraj.
On a crisp New England day, the duo were welcomed to the prestigious club by the game’s greatest and their fellow Hall of Famers – Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Stan Smith, Andre Agassi, and WTA founding member Rosie Casals.
Paes and Amritraj are the first ever Indians to be given the honour, marking a historical moment for aspiring South Asian Tennis players. In his speech, Leander, who has amassed 18 Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles, recalled and shared his childhood of playing football and hockey, before taking up tennis where he found his gift. Always pushed to do better by his father, who was India’s hockey captain, Leander went on to win an Olympic medal and put himself on the world map of tennis.
He said, “It’s my greatest honor to be on this stage with not only these legends of the game, but people who have inspired me every single day of my life – not because you’ve won Grand Slams, not because you’ve shaped our sport, but every single one of these people have shaped the world we live in.”
Amritraj, a successful player whose hey-day was from 1970 to 1993, retired with 15 ATP singles titles, 399 match victories, and was ranked 18th in the world during his peak. His role in leading India to the Davis Cup finals in 1974 and 1987 was exceptionally pivotal, a tennis megastar of his time.
Commenting on his election to the Hall, Amritraj said, “A feeling came over me that I had never experienced. This was an honour not just for me, for my family, for my parents, but for all of my fellow Indians and my country who live around the world.”
This has been a historical moment for Indians in tennis, a recognition that will go a long way to propagate the sport as well as sportsmen in an otherwise cricket-crazed nation. The duo’s induction has made India the 28th nation to be represented in the prestigious Hall of Fame.
