The 10 Greatest Indian Tennis Players of All Time
India’s Greatest Tennis Players: Top 10 Legends From Throughout the Years
India’s tennis legacy blends touch, tactics and remarkable longevity. From Wimbledon semi-finalists in the amateur era to modern Grand Slam winners, these male and female athletes really showed the world what Indian tennis players could do…
Sania Mirza took home her first women’s doubles major at Wimbledon in 2015. Image credits: Sportsmatik
Our list is a stat-checked top 10. We’ve balanced peak achievements, historical significance and global impact to give you the greatest Indian tennis players of all time!
1. Leander Paes
He has 18 Grand Slam titles
He won an Olympic singles bronze in 1996
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2024
Leander Paes is India’s most decorated major champion in doubles. He has 18 Grand Slam titles: eight in men’s doubles and 10 in mixed.
He also won India’s first Olympic tennis medal — a singles bronze at Atlanta 1996. The Olympic channel calls this a national breakthrough for Indian tennis.
Beyond silverware, Paes anchored India’s Davis Cup era and set a longevity standard that defined Indian doubles for decades. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2024.
2. Mahesh Bhupathi
He was the first Indian to win a Grand Slam in 1997
He is a four-time men’s doubles major winner
He finished his career with 12 majors across men’s and mixed doubles
A pioneer in Indian tennis, Bhupathi became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam when he captured the 1997 Roland-Garros mixed doubles. He finished his illustrious career with 12 majors across men’s and mixed doubles.
Read more top 10 lists on our tennis blog
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) places him as a four-time men’s doubles major winner and a leading Davis Cup doubles presence for India. His iconic pairing with Paes yielded multiple Slam triumphs and vaulted Indian doubles into a sustained world-class era.
3. Sania Mirza
She has won six Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed
She achieved her first women’s doubles major at Wimbledon 2015
She has dozens of WTA doubles titles
Mirza is India’s most accomplished woman in tennis: six Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed, and a rise to Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) doubles world No. 1 on 13 April 2015.
She achieved her first women’s doubles major at Wimbledon in 2015 with Martina Hingis. She also amassed dozens of WTA doubles titles and brought Indian women’s tennis into regular contention on the biggest stages.
4. Rohan Bopanna
He won the 2024 Australian Open men’s doubles with Matthew Ebden
He was the oldest man to win a major men’s doubles title in the Open Era
He reached No. 1 in men’s doubles
Bopanna’s late-career surge rewrote age records. At 43, he won the 2024 Australian Open men’s doubles with Matthew Ebden and became the oldest man to win a major men’s doubles title in the Open Era.
He also reached No. 1 in men’s doubles during that tournament. The Australian Open documents both milestones. The achievement capped years of elite doubles consistency and underscored India’s modern strength in the format.
Check out our article for the 5 greatest male tennis players of all -time!
5. Ramanathan Krishnan
He reached Wimbledon singles semifinals in 1960 and 1961
He achieved a world top 10 reputation
He elevated Indian singles on the world stage
A stylist and visionary of the pre-Open era, Ramanathan Krishnan reached Wimbledon singles semifinals in 1960 and 1961. He faced Neale Fraser in 1960 and Rod Laver in 1961.
Krishnan’s touch-heavy grass game and world top 10 reputation elevated Indian singles on the sport’s most storied stage.
6. Ramesh Krishnan
He reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals
He won eight ATP singles titles
He competed at Wimbledon in 1986
Ramesh is Ramanathan Krishnan’s son — and he carried on the family legacy by reaching three Grand Slam quarterfinals and winning eight ATP singles titles.
According to ATP’s official bio, his best Slam results were Wimbledon in 1986 and the US Open in 1981 and 1987.
A consummate counterpuncher, he anchored India in Davis Cup and was a consistent competitor on the professional tennis circuit during the 1980s.
7. Vijay Amritraj
He achieved 16 ATP singles titles
He won 13 doubles titles
He reached the quarterfinals for Wimbledon and the US Open
A global ambassador for Indian tennis, Amritraj compiled 16 ATP singles titles and 13 doubles titles while reaching quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open.
In 2024, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame for both his competitive achievements and his decades of service to the sport.
8. Somdev Devvarman
He won singles gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2010
He won singles and doubles golds in the 2010 Asian Games
He achieved multiple Olympic medals
A cornerstone of India’s 2010s singles hopes, Devvarman won Commonwealth Games singles gold in Delhi 2010. This was followed by Asian Games singles and doubles golds that same year.
Olympic coverage of India’s best tennis players highlights Devvarman’s multi-medal run and national significance. Those results, plus his top 100 spells and Davis Cup contributions, made him India’s post-Amritraj, post-Krishnan standard-bearer in singles.
9. Ankita Raina
She was the second Indian woman to win a WTA trophy
She won the Phillip Island Trophy doubles title in 2021 with Kamilla Rakhimova
She’s taken home 11 singles and 30 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit
According to the WTA, Ankita Raina became the second Indian woman after Sania Mirza to win a WTA trophy. She captured the Phillip Island Trophy doubles title in 2021 with Kamilla Rakhimova. She has also achieved 11 singles and 30 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit — and her career isn’t over yet!
A long-time Billie Jean King Cup mainstay, she has kept India present on the women’s tour while pushing rankings barriers for the next generation.
Looking for more? Read our list of the greatest female tennis players ever.
10. Nirupama Sanjeev (Vaidyanathan)
She was the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam match
She reached round two of the 1998 Australian Open
She is a role model for female Indian tennis players
A true pioneer, Nirupama became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam match at the 1998 Australian Open, reaching round two in Melbourne. This was a historic first for the nation.
Sanjeev’s milestone opened a pathway that later Indian tennis players would follow.
The Legacy of Indian Tennis
Indian tennis is often portrayed as “doubles only,” but a fuller read shows a longer arc: classic grass-court singles in the 1960s and 70s, wave after wave of doubles excellence from the late 1990s onward, and intermittent singles spikes that kept the door open.
The country’s greatest players succeeded with brains as much as brawn, angles, hands, anticipation and teamwork, while bearing the extra weight of being standard-bearers for a huge sporting nation. That combination of craft and responsibility is why their stories endure.
Indian Tennis: What’s Next?
India’s next big leap likely hinges on sustained singles depth. This includes smarter domestic scheduling, extended training bases abroad and deliberate exposure to higher-tier events.
India’s greatest players show that the path is navigable. With its broader high-performance structure and cultural impact, the next breakthrough can build on proven methods rather than hope alone.
The Greatest Indian Tennis Players of All Time - Key Takeaways
The careers of these players shape a distinctive Indian tennis identity. We can see elegant singles trailblazers who made Wimbledon crowds take notice, as well as doubles virtuosos who turned Slams into a reliable stage for Indian flags.
These players established a dynasty and redefined what was possible for Indian men and women. They broke barriers for future players — and they continue to inspire fans across the world.
Have we missed anyone off our list? Who is the greatest Indian tennis player of all time? Tell us in the comments!
