The Untold Story of Tennis Player Leander Paes

Leander Paes is an Indian born successful tennis player. Being born in Goa, India on 17th June 1973, Paes started his career at the age of five. He is known as the most successful doubles players historically as he has achieved 8 Grand Slam doubles titles and other 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles at the championships as Britannica reported. 

Here, we discuss

• How Leander Paes Started His Career?
• Leander Paes began a Doubles Partnership
• Leander Paes Achievements
• How Tennis Has Been A Lifelong Passion Career For Leander Paes
• Leander Paes Legacy

How Leander Paes Started His Career?

Britannia stated that Leander Paes started his career at a young age after joining the tennis academy in Madras in 1985 that is currently known as Chennai. In 1990, Paes did win Wimbledon junior title where he was ranked as the world’s number one junior player. In the same year, Leander Paes was invited to the Indian Davis Cup team where he agreed to join and start his professional career the following year (1991).

In his professional career, Leander started to win and in 1996, after he participated in Men’s singles tennis he was awarded a bronze medal during Atlanta Olympic Games. During that time, he was the first Indian athlete who had won an individual Olympic medal since 1992 as reported on other pages of Britannica.

Leander Paes began a Doubles Partnership

• He started a double partnership and joined together by his countryman in 1994 called Mahesh Bhupathi. During their career, they did capture six ATP doubles titles both in 1997 and 1998 at an eight tournament finals.
• The two duos advanced themselves to double finals for all the four Grand Slam tournaments and in 1999, they did win Wimbledon and French Open. However, they lost against the US and Australia opens. In the same year, the duo did ascend and became ATP doubles where they were ranked number one.
• Later, they had their personal problems. That led them to the dissolution of their partnerships. Although on the following occasion including the 2001 French Open, they did play together. The pair did win the title for their second time.
• After the pair broke, Leander Paes had to continue with his doubles to success.

Leander Paes Achievements

He won various titles including Grand Slam titles where he had series of Czech partners. He won these titles:

• 2006 – The US Open with Martin Damm
• 2009 – The US and French Opens both participated with Lukas Dlouhy
• 2012 – The Australian Open with Radek Stepanek
• 2013 – The US open with Radek Stepanek

In 2012, after he won the Australian title, that was the moment he had captured a prestigious career with Grand Slam title as Britannica claimed.

How Tennis Has Been A Lifelong Passion Career For Leander Paes

• Olympic Channel reported that the Indian tennis champion Leander Paes has been spending his time with family after India enforced nationwide lockdown.
• If the player is in the field or not, he claimed that his romance with tennis has to continue even after he has retired according to the Olympic Channel article.
• He has won seven-time in Olympic games and it is his desire to continue playing his favorite sport even after calling it a day with a professional career that he has participated in over three decades.
• In his interview with Indian Express, the 47-year-old Leander Paes claimed that he will be playing tennis. He has to play tennis in some form or shape as long as he plays. He also claims that he will be having it in his day-to-day as a lifestyle either participating in seniors or exhibitions, world team or leagues, and having fun with his family.
• According to Olympic Channel, in one of their pages, they claimed that the bronze medal winner during Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games had announced this year was his last season as a professional player. That is because he was eyeing to appear in the Tokyo Olympics Games.
• However, due to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has affected many activities including sports. That led to the postponement of his aiming Tokyo Games that will be held in 2021. Due to that, his plans for participating this year in Japan have been thrown up in the air.
• In his interview, he claimed that due to postponed Olympics games to 2021 his team will evaluate to see whether he can continue with the games or not in the coming year.
• Other people also claimed that Leander Paes could continue with his career after the 2021 Olympics. Some of these people according to Olympic Channel include his former partner Mahesh Bhupati and 1972 Olympic hockey bronze winner Vece Paes who happens to be his father.

However, after the Tokyo Games have been postponed up to next year July, there are many people who are waiting for Leander Paes to heed the advice. They want to see him participate again in the title.

Leander Paes Legacy

• Many people will remember Leander Peas because of his achievements in playing tennis games. He is known mostly for Atlanta Olympics as he won Singles bronze medal after losing to Andre Agassi and Bruguera Sergi as Sport Star claimed.
• Leander Paes received India’s highest sporting honor, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, in 1996–97.
• He received the Arjuna Award in 1990 and the Padma Shri award in the year 2001.
• He  won 44 Davis Cup, the last doubles paired with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.
• However, most might not be remembering that he was close to winning 1992 doubles medal in Barcelona Games with Ramesh Krishnan.
• Nevertheless, he has made history and will continue being remembered as the first Indian tennis superstar. That is a great achievement. He is also the World’s greatest to ever play doubles.
• Having won an accumulated 18 titles of Grand Slam, that makes him be the highest valued player to ever accumulate such titles in history.
• In his career, if he was a feat to have to participate in seven consecutive Olympics, that might take long before it can be emulated by another tennis player and not in India alone but worldwide according to Sport Star report.

Wrapping Up

Leander Paes has created many memorable achievements in his career life. He has made perfect doubles that have succeeded in winning champions including Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova, and Mahesh Bhupathi.

In his partnership career, he was able to win various Grand Slams. In some of the rallies that Leander Paes and these legends produced have attained mythical status.

ESP claims that he has had a long career, and in sports that can be termed as a modern miracle. He is almost close to hitting 50 years, but he has continued setting the tennis world alight. That is because of his outrageous double skills. He also seems good and can go for more years.

Don’t you think that Leander Paes is a legend and there are no controversies attached to him that will ever change that fact?