In the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the first Asian men to be inducted are Leander Paes, who won eighteen Grand Slam titles in men’s or mixed doubles, and Vijay Amritraj, an ex-player, broadcaster, and promoter.
The Hall, an organisation founded in 1955 and situated in Newport, Rhode Island, revealed its Class of 2024 on Wednesday. Richard Evans, a British historian and journalist who was chosen under the Contributor Category, will also be inducted the following year.
Two of the first members of the shrine from India are Amritraj, who was also selected in the Contributor Category, and Paes, who enters in the Player Category. It is the 28th country with representation.
When Li Na, a Chinese woman who captured two Grand Slam singles championships, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019, she became the first Asian inductee.
The induction ceremony for the following year is scheduled for July 20 in Newport.
After two years during which no nominee in the Player Category was chosen, Paes’ selection brings an end to that run. For the first time in history, no candidate on the ballot was chosen for the Class of 2022; this happened again for the Class of 2023.
75% of ballots must be cast in favour of a candidate; voters can include members of the media, historians, Hall of Famer, business professionals, and enthusiasts.
“Playing for my country for more than thirty years in a sport that has given and taught me everything has been the honour of my life. Not only do I deserve to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, but our billion-plus Indian population does as well,” Paes remarked. “Receiving this honour culminates a professional journey of a lifetime, standing on the shoulders of greats and sets the tone for other youngsters in Asia and around the world.”
One of only three men in tennis history to have achieved a career Grand Slam in both doubles and mixed doubles, he won eight major titles in doubles and ten in mixed. He holds the record for the most mixed doubles trophies won in Grand Slam competition, shared by Martina Navratilova, one of his former doubles partners.
During his time on the men’s circuit, Paes won 55 doubles championships and held the top spot in the ATP doubles rankings for 37 weeks.
He holds the record with 45 Davis Cup doubles match victories for India. He also competed in seven Summer Olympics, the most for a tennis player, and won a bronze in the singles competition in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Amritraj played professionally and led India to the Davis Cup Finals in both 1974 and 1987. To express opposition to apartheid, the team skipped the final match against South Africa in 1974. Amritraj promoted humanitarian causes while working as a tennis broadcaster and administrator following his playing career.
Since 1960, Evans has covered more than 200 Grand Slam matches as well as other tennis-related events. Evans is the author of more than 20 books. He served as president of the International Tennis Writers’ Association from 2001 to 2004 after being one of its founding members.