Leander Paes inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Leander Paes (Google Images)

According to Ali Asgar Nalwala of olympics.com on Thursday, Leander Paes of Kolkata, India is being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 2024. Paes is known as being one of the best men’s doubles players in tennis history.

Paes was ranked first in the world for 39 straight weeks from June 21, 1999 to March 2000. He is one of two Indian players to be ranked first in the world in men’s doubles. The other is Mahesh Bhupathi of Chennai, who received the honour for four weeks. The first two weeks was from April 26, 1999 to May 9, 1999, and the second two weeks was from June 7, 1999 to June 20, 1999.

Paes won eight grand slam finals in men’s doubles, and an additional 10 grand slam finals in mixed doubles. His grand slam men’s doubles titles came at the French Open in 1999, 2001 and 2009, Wimbledon in 1999, the United States Open in 2006, 2009, and 2013, and the Australian Open in 2012. Among his doubles partners were Bhupathi (1999 French Open and Wimbledon, and 2001 French Open), Martin Damm of the Czech Republic (2006 United States Open), Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic (2009 French Open and 2009 United States Open), Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic (2012 Australian Open and 2013 United States Open).

Paes’s 10 mixed doubles titles came at Wimbledon in 1999, 2003, 2010, and 2015, at the Australian Open in 2003, 2010 and 2015, the United States Open in 2008 and 2015, and the French Open in 2016. Among his female doubles partners were Lisa Raymond of the United States (1999 Wimbledon), Martina Navratilova (2003 Australian Open and Wimbledon), Cara Black of Zimbabwe (2008 United States Open, 2010 Australian Open and Wimbledon), and Martina Hingis of Switzerland (2015 Australian Open, Wimbledon, and United States Open, and 2016 French Open).

Paes won one singles tournament. Ironically, it came at the 1998 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, where he beat Neville Godwin of South Africa in the final, 6-3, 6-2.

Two other people are being inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. They are tennis broadcaster Vijay Amritraj of India, and writer Richard Evans of Great Britain.

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