IMAGE: Indian tennis legend Leander Paes receives the International Tennis Hall of Fame medal from daughter Aiyana Paes on Saturday, July 20. Photograph: Kind courtesy Indian Tennis Daily/X
Indian legends Vijay Amritraj and Leander Paes on Saturday became the first Asian men to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a contributor and player, respectively.
“I think it’s really special to have two Indians inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Paes told ATPTour.com.
“I have so much respect for Vijay and what he has given to me and the opportunity as a young boy in his academy, to his mom and dad, Mr. And Mrs. Amritraj, for supporting me and believing in me.
“Also to see a fellow Indian getting inducted into a category that does so much to enhance the game of tennis [is special]. A big congratulations to Vijay’s mum, dad, wife, two sons, their wives and the whole family and especially to Vijay’s brothers Anand and Ashok.”
Amritraj and Paes’s journeys are intertwined, since the latter attended an academy as a kid with the former’s name on it.
Paes comes from a sporting family that represented India on the world’s stage. Both competed in the 1972 Olympics. His father, Vece, was a member of the Indian field hockey team and his mother, Jennifer, was captain of the basketball team.
IMAGE: Vijay Amritraj with his International Tennis Hall of Fame plaque. Photograph: Intenational Tennis Hall of Fame/X
But he was still a kid running around Calcutta barefoot playing cricket and football. Amritraj and his family were living proof that those were not his only options. Tennis was one, too.
“The Amritraj family has done a lot for sport and a big congratulations to Vijay for being inducted into the Hall of Fame in the contributor category,” Paes said. “It’s so apt that he actually gave me that opportunity.”
Paes, following the example of those who came before him, crafted one of the best doubles resumes of his lifetime. The 51-year-old won 54 tour-level doubles titles as well as a singles title. It is fitting that his singles crown came in Newport, where he was inducted into the International Hall of Fame alongside Amritraj, a three-time Newport singles champion.
But Amritraj nearly did not have a future in sport at all. When he was young, the Indian struggled with lung issues.
“You’re lying in a hospital bed, and your mother’s telling you you’re going to be the best tennis player India’s ever had and you’re going to be playing around the world, and Indians all over the world are going to come and watch you play,” Amritraj recalled.
“At seven years old, what is she telling you about? Not that she knew about it, because she hadn’t been there. So it’s not like she’s talking from experience or anything else. But it was a mother’s strength and belief that was embedded in me. So then when it finally happens, and you have something like this accolade to be bestowed on you, the whole life from seven to 70 just kind of flashed before me, and everything that I did.”
IMAGE: Leander Paes with his International Tennis Hall of Fame medal. Photograph: Kind courtesy Mubadala Citi DC Open/X
Amritraj made his mark early in his career, advancing to the 1973 Wimbledon quarter-finals aged 19. Two-time tournament champion Carlos Alcaraz did not reach the last eight at The Championships until he was 20, when he lifted the trophy at SW19.
Amritraj ascended to No. 23 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings and claimed 13 doubles crowns.
A four-time singles quarter-finalist at the Grand Slam tournaments, Amritraj led India to two Davis Cup finals. And the waves of those efforts back home helped show millions of children across the country that success in tennis was possible.
Amritraj credits his parents, Bob and Maggie, for not trying to check off simple goals for their son, but encouraging him to dream bigger than he could ever imagine.
Now both men have made history for their country, leaving a permanent mark on the history books.
