How Leander Paes is changing the face of Indian tennis

Off the court Leander Paes might well be 42 years old, but on the court he keeps proving time and again that he is ageless.

We’re talking about a man who won his third mixed doubles crown in a year (with Swiss veteran Martina Hingis. We won’t erase that fact, unlike BBC) and after this US Open win, he also becomes the most successful male tennis player in the mixed doubles format.

For our sake, let’s go over his achievements once again. As of now, Paes has won nine mixed doubles major titles and trails behind Martina Navratilova, who has ten titles to her credit. This comes after 25 years of sweating it out in a sport which has a modest following in the country he calls home.

There are no garlands from fans awaiting him at the airport when he returns victorious or the government awarding cash prizes in honour of him making the country proud at the world’s most prestigious tennis events. Neither is he provided a bus from where he can wave to the crowds assembled waiting to get a glance of him, nor does he have people waiting outside his house with placards.

All of the above are reserved for a sport, often mistaken as the national and the only sport worthy of any adulation in the country- cricket.

But, that doesn’t bother Paes.

He has been slowly and steadily putting India on the global map as far as tennis is concerned, armed with his weapon- the racquet.

It cannot be an easy journey for a player to excel at a sport which not only holds a secondary position in his country, but also has fans of the game rooting primarily for seasoned international players who’ve made their way to the top, aided by not just their talent but by world-class facilities and opportunities .

But, again that doesn’t bother Paes.

He ensures there’s a long list of firsts attached to his name.

Case in point- the fourth seeded mixed doubles duo of Leander Paes and Martina Hingis is the first team since 1969 to emerge victorious in three of the four majors in a calendar year.

Additionally, Paes has not just excelled in the mixed doubles format where his talents are complimented beautifully by Martina Hingis, his 24th mixed doubles partner, but has left his mark in the singles and doubles formats, as well. Apart from earning India a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Paes has also won eight men’s doubles grand slam titles.

Achieving all this in a sport where he has to struggle to garner visibility owing to playing in a category that is not bestowed with the same kind of importance commanded by the singles title, is no mean feat.

The stark difference between the prize money of the singles title and the mixed doubles is evidence.

While Novak Djokovic, the winner of the US Open Men’s Singles title was rewarded with a whopping cash prize of 3.3 million dollars, with an extra 500,000 dollars just in bonus, Leander Paes and Martina Hingis together fetched a mere 150,000 dollars for winning the mixed doubles title.

Paes however, plays on.

Come to think of it, his contribution to the game assumes a sacrosanct role in the Indian context, wherein on one hand, he is leading the pack when it comes to Davis Cup while on the other hand, he’s battling it out in Grand Slams in order to be a force to reckon with. Both these developments come at a time when the fan-base for the sport is eyeing an increase.

However, Paes doesn’t look like he’s anywhere close to being satisfied. His unflinching desire to represent India at the Olympics again and again is out there in the open.

For someone who has made a fan out of Novak Djokovic himself, a trip to Rio De Janeiro next year doesn’t seem that far-fetched, does it?

Image credit: Indiatimes