Former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes
was recently elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame as the Class of
2024. An 18-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, Paes has
been selected in the Player Category to receive tennis’ ultimate honour.
The Class of 2024 will be officially
inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 20 next year in Newport, Rhode Island.
Paes will join an elite group of 264 inductees from 27 nations – with Bharat set
to become the 28th nation represented in the Hall of Fame.
Speaking of the achievement, Leander
Paes shared, “It has been my life’s honour to play for my country for over 3
decades in a sport that has given me and taught me everything and this
acknowledgement is indeed the ultimate accolade for every tennis player. The
International Tennis Hall of Fame induction belongs not just to me but to our
billion plus Indians and to every young kid who nurtures a dream in their heart
and fire in their belly to follow their passions.”
“Being born into a sporting family
legacy was a daunting realisation inspired by my parents, I’ve always been
motivated to stand and hear the national anthem which has spurred me on ever
since I picked up a wooden tennis racket as a five-year-old,” he added.
The sportsperson expressed he encountered
various challenges like getting mugged while playing gully cricket, street football
in the by-lanes of Calcutta, dreaming of representing Bharat.
He had to hitchhike through European
tournaments, sleep in cold locker rooms for not being able to afford a hotel
room.
Paes narrated his transformation from a
struggler to winner of several Wimbledon trophies in the presence of royalty,
standing on an Olympic podium with a singles medal emulating, achieving the
all-time doubles win record in Davis Cup for Bharat and completing career Grand
Slams in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles.
All these were nothing short of a dream,
said the former doubles world No. 1.
“Receiving this Hall of Fame honour as
the 1st Asian man in the Player Category culminates a professional journey of a
lifetime standing on the shoulders of the greats and sets the tone for many
other youngsters in Asia and around the world,” he added.
During his three-decade career, Leander
Paes set a gold standard of tennis success in Asia. With eight doubles Grand
Slam titles and ten in mixed doubles, he is one of only three men in tennis
history to capture a career Grand Slam in both disciplines.
Paes is also tied with his former
partner, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova, for the most mixed doubles major
titles in history.
Additionally, he and Hall of Famer
Martina Hingis are one of only two mixed doubles teams in the Open Era to
complete a career Grand Slam together.
Paes along with his fellow Indian Mahesh
Bhupathi were also the 1st ever men’s doubles team in the Open era to make all
4 Grand Slam finals in a calendar year (1999).
He spent a total of 462 weeks inside the
ATP doubles top 10, including 37 weeks at No. 1, and won 55 doubles titles on
tour with a record 25 year-end finishes inside the top 100, a sheer testament
of his longevity at the highest level with him being the only man with ATP
Tour, Davis Cup and Grand Slam match wins in 4 different decades.
The player, along with his Hall of Famer
idol Rod Laver are also the only two men to win Wimbledon and Roland Garros
titles in three different decades.
Paes represented Bharat in international
competition for 30 years with pride, winning a Davis Cup record 45 doubles
rubbers during his career and 93 total wins in singles and doubles giving him
the 4th highest of all-time Davis Cup wins.
He competed in a record seven
consecutive Olympic Games, the most in tennis history, and is India’s only
Olympic medalist in tennis, capturing bronze in singles at the 1996 Atlanta
Games.
In addition, Paes is the most decorated
male tennis player in Asian Games history with 8 medals as well as a former
junior singles world No 1 with 2 junior Slam titles. By winning the Hall of
Fame’s Fan Vote in October, Paes received three added percentage points to his
ballot totals from the Official Voting Group.
ANI
