Paes, Leander (1973-…), was one of India’s leading tennis players and one of the country’s most popular sports figures. Paes represented India at the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. He won a bronze medal for singles tennis in 1996—the first Olympic medal won by an individual Indian since 1952. Paes was more successful in doubles play than in singles play. He was the number-one ranked doubles player in the world in 1999. He won the French Open doubles championship in 1999, 2001, and 2009; the Wimbledon doubles championship in 1999; and the US Open doubles championship in 2009. His partner in many of these victories was his countryman Mahesh Bhupathi.
In the 2009 French Open and US Open championships, his partner was Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic. Paes won the 2006 US Open doubles championship with partner Martin Damm of the Czech Republic. He won the 2012 Australian Open and the 2013 US Open doubles titles with Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Paes also won the 1999 Wimbledon mixed doubles championship with an American partner, Lisa Raymond. He won the 2003 mixed doubles championships at the Australian Open and Wimbledon with Martina Navratilova of the United States. He won the mixed doubles titles at the US Open in 2008 and the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2010 with partner Cara Black of Zimbabwe. Paes won the 2015 Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open mixed doubles titles with Martina Hingis of Switzerland. He won the French Open mixed doubles title with Hingis in 2016, completing a career grand slam in mixed doubles. Grand slam is the name given to the four major professional tennis tournaments held annually—the Australian Open, the French Open, the Championships (Wimbledon), and the US Open.
Leander Paes was born on June 17, 1973, in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Both of his parents represented India at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. His father was on the men’s field hockey team, and his mother was on the women’s basketball team. Paes won the Junior Championship title at Wimbledon in 1990 and at the US Open in 1991. He became a professional tennis player in 1991.
See also Tennis.
