10 Best Indian Tennis Players – List of Famous Indian Players

Top 10 Indian Tennis Players

India is home to some of the greatest tennis players in history. Spanning from the ninteenth century to present day, India has produced many world-class athletes who have made their mark on the international court.

From Ramanathan Krishnan, who was the first Indian player to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon stadium in 1960 and Leander Paes, who won a Bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Games, to Yuki Bhambri and Sania Mirza, who have both achieved great success in doubles competitions, Indian tennis is a rich tapestry of talent and excellence.

With an impressive combination of power, finesse and agility, these top 10 Indian tennis players have continued to make their nation proud by performing with distinction on the global stage and inspiring generations of aspiring athletes for years to come.

Top Indian Tennis Players

Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza is one of India’s most accomplished tennis players, having achieved multiple Grand Slam titles and Olympic medals. She has been playing professional tennis since 2003 and is the highest ranked female Indian player in history. Her biggest career achievement to date was winning the women’s doubles title at the 2015 French Open with Martina Hingis.

Mirza was born in Mumbai in 1986 but grew up in Hyderabad, India where she started playing tennis at the age of six. She quickly excelled and went on to win her first international title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls’ Doubles event. In 2005, she became the first-ever Indian woman to qualify for a WTA tournament when she competed at an event in Hyderabad. The following year, she won her first WTA singles title when she defeated Alyona Bondarenko in straight sets at the 2006 Hyderabad Open.

In 2007, Mirza won two more singles titles (Moscow and Pune) and rose to world No. 27 on the WTA rankings. This made her the highest ever ranked Indian female tennis player until then. She continued to achieve great success throughout her career – winning numerous WTA tournaments, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon (2005), and earning six Grand Slam titles: three mixed doubles titles (2012 Australian Open & US Open, 2014 French Open) and three women’s doubles titles (2015 French Open, 2019 Australian Open & US Open).

In addition to her impressive achievements on court, Mirza also holds a number of off-court accolades including being appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia in 2013 as well as being honored with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (the highest sporting honor given by Government of India) in 2015. In 2020, Sania was inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame which made her only second Indian woman after Nirupama Vaidyanathan to make it into this prestigious list of athletes from around the world.

Leander Paes

Leander Paes is one of India’s most celebrated tennis players. Born in Calcutta in 1973, he has established himself as a formidable presence on the court for nearly three decades. He is one of the most successful doubles players in the history of Indian tennis, having won 18 Grand Slam titles with 8 different partners; this includes 3 mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and 4 men’s doubles titles at the Australian Open.

Paes first emerged onto the international tennis scene as a junior, winning bronze at the 1990 Junior Wimbledon Championships. This victory was followed by a gold medal triumph at the Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan just two years later. With his early successes paving way for a steady rise to success and recognition, Paes went on to become India’s number 1 ranked singles player during several periods throughout the 1990s and 2000s. His career-best singles ranking of 73 occurred in 1999.

Throughout his career, Paes has been continuously lauded for his commitment to representing India on the global stage. He is widely credited with putting Indian Tennis into global consciousness and inspiring many generations of young aspiring stars from the country. Additionally, he has served as an ambassador for numerous charitable organizations such as UNICEF, Apollo Hospital Group and Save The Children India amongst others. In recognition of his sporting achievements and humanitarian work, Paes was awarded India’s highest sporting honour, Padma Shri in 2001; this was followed by an Arjuna Award in 1990

Leander Paes is widely considered one of India’s greatest tennis icons and an all-time great when it comes to playing Doubles matches on court. Despite being away from competitive tennis since 2018 (apart from a brief comeback appearance at Davis Cup 2019), he continues to motivate millions of Indians around the world through his exemplary performances over three decades – earning him praise from fans around the globe!

Ramanathan Krishnan

Ramanathan Krishnan was born on 6th July, 1936 in Madras, India and has achieved immense success in his illustrious career. He is considered to be one of the all-time greats of Indian tennis and has also been credited as one of the pioneers of modern Indian tennis. During his professional career, which lasted more than two decades, he won several international titles and represented India in various international tournaments.

Krishnan’s early years were filled with success. While still a teenager, he won his first National championship in 1952 and went on to win five more consecutive championships from 1954-58. His impressive performance at these national tournaments earned him a place in the Davis Cup team for India in 1956 where he got off to an impressive start with a win over Scotland’s Robert Hibbitt. Krishnan continued to perform admirably at international competitions as well with strong showings at Wimbledon and the French Open.

Krishnan’s impressive record soon led him to become one of the world’s top players by 1960 when he reached the quarterfinals at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros in the same year; becoming only the second ever player from Asia to achieve this feat after China’s Liem Swie King. This remarkable achievement put Krishnan firmly on the map as a serious contender on international courts which was further solidified when he claimed victory over three-time champion Rod Laver at Wimbledon in 1961—the first time a non-European had beaten Laver in singles play since 1957.

In addition to his successes on court, Krishnan was also very involved with developing tennis facilities across India during his career. He established tennis academies such as Krishna Academy, Chennai Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA). The CLTA was highly successful, with many current Indian pro players like Leander Paes honing their talents under Krishnan’s guidance before moving onto professional careers within tennis.

Krishnan retired from professional play after winning seven doubles titles during his career but was inducted into International Tennis Hall Of Fame for his contributions towards modernizing Indian tennis in 2005; becoming only the third Indian ever to receive such an honor after Vijay Amritraj and Premjit Lalit Singh Lall. Ramanathan Krishanan will certainly go down as one of India’s greatest athletes due to his contributions both on and off court towards modernizing Indian Tennis over two decades ago; cementing his legacy as an all-time great within not just Indian Tennis but international Tennis circles too.

Ramesh Krishnan

Ramesh Krishnan is an Indian tennis player who had a very successful career as a professional in the 80s and 90s. He was born on July 17, 1960 and he was renowned for his skill and mastery of all surfaces, including clay, grass and hard court. He won two singles titles in the ATP Tour in 1984 at Geneva, Switzerland and in 1989 at Bologna, Italy. He also won two doubles titles with compatriot Vijay Amritraj in 1986 at Stuttgart and 1987 at Nice.

Krishnan was ranked among the top 20 players in the world from 1982 to 1989. During this time, he excelled on grass courts where he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon three times between 1982–1984. His best performance there came in 1983 when he made it to the quarterfinals after defeating John McEnroe in an epic five-set match that lasted over three hours. He also made it to the third round of both French Open and US Open Grand Slam tournaments multiple times during his career.

Apart from his impressive record on professional tour, Ramesh Krishnan has also achieved great success at Davis Cup where he represented India for more than a decade. He won 39 out of 58 matches that he played for India in Davis Cup which include 24 singles wins and 15 doubles wins. It is noteworthy that India never lost any Davis Cup tie when Krishnan has been part of their squad throughout his career – something quite remarkable indeed!

In addition to his achievements on court, Ramesh Krishnan is remembered fondly by many people as an extremely amiable person off-court too. His easygoing nature endeared him to everyone around him; whether it was teammates or opponents or tournament officials or fans alike – everyone seemed to love him! This is no surprise really given how beloved tennis legend Vijay Amritraj described him as ‘the perfect human being’ once upon a time!

Mahesh Bhupathi

Mahesh Bhupathi has won numerous doubles titles, including four Grand Slams in the men’s doubles category. His most successful collaboration was with Leander Paes, a fellow Indian player, whom he won several ATP tournaments with and also represented India at the Olympics in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Born in Chennai, India in 1974, Mahesh Bhupathi began playing tennis at a young age and went on to become one of the best players from his country. He attended St. Stephen’s College in Delhi before enrolling at the University of Memphis where he played college tennis. During his time there, he earned All-American honors twice and was ranked No. 5 nationally as a sophomore. He then went on to win two collegiate tournaments before turning professional in 1995.

Mahesh Bhupathi’s professional career has been impressive and highly successful. In 1999 he won his first Grand Slam title with partner Leander Paes at the French Open Men’s Doubles competition and that same year they won three other ATP titles as well – two Masters Series events (including Rome) and Milan Indoor Championships. The following year saw them reach their peak ranking of No. 1, making it possible for them to be the first ever all-Indian pair to do so – an achievement which earned them considerable recognition around the world.

Throughout his career Bhupathi has collected numerous awards such as being given ‘The International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Champion Award for Doubles’ in 2002; being named Laureus World Sports Awards ‘Comeback Of The Year’ winner in 2003; being inducted into the ‘International Tennis Hall Of Fame’ in 2005; winning ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award’ by Indian Government 2006; receiving Arjuna Award by Government of India 2008; becoming ITF Champions 2011–12 along with Leander Paes; receiving Padma Shri award by Government of India 2013; winning “Most Successful Doubles Team Of Decade” Award by ITF 2014 among many other accolades throughout his career.

Yuki Bhambri

Yuki Bhambri is one of the top Indian tennis players in the world. He is currently ranked number 89 in singles and 115 in doubles, making him one of the most successful Indian tennis players today.

Bhambri was born on 8th June 1992 to a family of tennis enthusiasts. His mother, Indra, had been playing tennis since she was a child and his father Dr. Sanjay Bhambri had also been an aspiring professional player before he decided to pursue a career as an engineer. Growing up, Yuki showed early signs of having considerable talent when playing with his parents and soon travelled around India at tournaments with his parents supporting him all the way.

At age 18, Yuki won two ITF titles and qualified for Junior Australian Open where he reached the second round. Following this success, he achieved further wins at Moselle Open 2011 beating World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-4 7-6(5) and then reached his first ATP Tour semi-final at Chennai Open 2012 which made him the youngest Indian ever to reach a semifinal on ATP tour at 19 years old; this historic accomplishment signalled the beginning of his rise as one of India’s top players on the international stage.

Since then, Yuki has gone from strength to strength; In 2016 he won five matches in a row at ATP Challenger Tours which helped him break into top 100 rankings for singles and doubles events; This feat was followed by an impressive run at US Open 2017 where he made it to third round beating world No 10 Gael Monfils in round 2; Yuki has consistently performed well since then participating at several tournaments including French Open 2019 where he made it to pre-quarterfinals while representing India in Davis Cup since 2013 making remarkable contributions to the team’s success over years.

Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj was one of the first Indians to make a mark on the world stage, and remains the only Indian to have ever reached the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams. He has been called the “pioneer” of Indian tennis by many.

Amritraj was born in Madras, now known as Chennai, in 1953 into an athletic family. His father was a national level lawn tennis player and his older brother Anand was also a successful tennis player at both domestic and international levels. Vijay himself started playing tennis when he was just nine years old and soon began competing professionally at age 15. In 1972, he became the first Indian to play at Wimbledon and subsequently progressed through international tournaments with considerable success over the following years.

By 1975, Amritraj had become India’s highest ranked male singles players with a rank of 16th globally according to ATP Rankings, and continued to move up even further with each passing year. During this period, he achieved such major feats as becoming the first ever Indian to reach a US Open semifinal in 1981; reaching three consecutive Australian Open quarterfinals from 1977-1979; and making back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at both Wimbledon and French Open from 1980-1981. He is also only one among five men (the others being Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal) who have reached at least quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams throughout their careers.

Amirtraj’s career ended after 17 years due to persistent injuries but his legacy within India remains undiminished to this day thanks largely due to his remarkable achievements on court which were rewarded with numerous accolades such as Arjuna Awards in 1972; Padma Shri Award in 1983; Padma Bhushan Award in 2017; Lifetime Achievement Award by International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 2018 etc..

Furthermore, Amirtraj has played an influential role off court too as he served as India’s Davis Cup non-playing captain four times between 1988–1992; acted as Hony Secretary for All India Tennis Association (AITA) in 2006–09; established Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2007 dedicated towards encouraging underprivileged children take up sports etc. Although it has been nearly 50 years since Amritraj made his mark on international tennis scene but no other male singles player from India has yet come close matching his records or legacy – making him truly indispensable figurehead for aspiring Indian players even today.

Somdev Devvarman

Born in Kolkata in 1985, Somdev Devvarman initially began playing at the age of six and soon enough was competing in tournaments all over India. His hard work paid off as he won several junior titles before moving on to play professionally.

He eventually went on to become India’s number one ranked player with great backhand shots that made him stand out from his peers. In 2009 he won the Chennai Open, becoming the first Indian in 15 years to win an ATP Tour Title. He also reached a career high ranking of 62 in 2010 and was part of the Davis Cup team for many years.

Somdev’s successes have only continued since then as he won a bronze medal in singles at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea in 2014 and then again represented India at the Olympic Games 2016 where he competed in both singles and doubles events. Later that same year, he marked yet another milestone when he qualified for the US Open main draw for the third time after passing through qualifying rounds for three consecutive years.

The list of achievements goes on – including two successful Challenger titles as well as representing India at numerous Davis Cups where he has racked up an impressive winning record. He is currently ranked 121st on the ATP tour and continues to be an inspiring role model for aspiring young tennis players across India and abroad alike.

Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna is a professional tennis player from India and is widely considered one of the most successful Indian players in history. He has reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world, making him the highest-ranked Indian tennis player in ATP singles rankings since 2010.

Bopanna began his tennis career at an early age and was granted a scholarship to the Karnataka Institute of Tennis, now known as KITK College of Science. During his time there, he achieved impressive results including winning numerous junior tournaments both domestically and internationally such as three ITF Men’s Futures titles and two Challenger titles. His success on the court led him to join the ATP Tour, where he quickly became one of India’s top players.

Bopanna has had great success representing India worldwide having won gold medals in both doubles and mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and 2018 respectively. He has also won multiple Davis Cup matches for India, helping them reach the World Group play-offs four times in 2010-2011, 2015, 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2017 he helped lead India to its first ever Davis Cup final against Serbia which they ultimately lost but it was still an incredible achievement nonetheless.

In addition to being successful on court, Bopanna is an incredible role model for aspiring athletes across India. He is involved with numerous philanthropic initiatives including launching his own organization called Rohan Bopanna Foundation which seeks to provide desperately needed support for underprivileged children and their families in Indian communities by providing them access to educational resources, healthcare assistance, and other forms of support.

Tara Iyer

Tara Iyer is a popular Indian tennis player who has made a name for herself in the international tennis circuit. She hails from Mumbai, India, and is currently ranked as one of the top 200 women’s singles players in the world. After beginning her career in 2008, Iyer has quickly risen through the ranks to achieve numerous victories in tournaments across four continents.

Iyer started playing tennis when she was just five years old and developed a strong affinity for the sport early on. She trained under renowned coach Mahesh Bhupathi at his academy in Mumbai and was soon competing at professional events. She eventually went on to make history by becoming the first Indian player to win an ITF Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title in 2018, triumphing at the Samsung Open in France.

The Indian star has had some impressive wins over notable names such as Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova, both of whom are current top 10 players on tour. In 2019, Iyer reached her career-high ranking of 135th and qualified for two Grand Slams – Australian Open and US Open – achieving remarkable success considering she was unable to train or compete due to the Covid-19 pandemic earlier that year. As a result of these achievements, she is considered by many to be one of India’s most talented female tennis players today.

In addition to her extraordinary feats on court, Tara Iyer also has made notable contributions off it as well. In 2020, she created ‘Project Serve Tennis’ which aims to provide free access to quality coaching for disadvantaged children from rural areas. The project uses technology combined with talent scouting methods to locate children with potential for improvement and provides them with personalized coaching sessions aimed at developing their skills further. It is expected that this project will have significant impact not only on those involved but also on the overall development of Indian tennis in general.

Best Indian Tennis Players Today

Currently, India is home to some of the best male and female tennis players in the world.

Sumit Nagal reached an ATP ranking high of No 112 before being sidelined by injury since late 2020; however he had made quite an impression at US Open 2020 where he took Roger Federer deep into four sets before losing 6–4 6–3 5–7 2–6 against arguably one of greatest players ever! Apart from that he also made it to semi-finals at Stuttgart 2020 beating Diego Schwartzman along way becoming first Indian man since Leander Paes to reach semi-finals at ATP event in 20 years!

Prajnesh Gunneswaran currently ranks 79th on men’s singles ATP rankings which makes him third highest-ranked Indian men’s single’s player behind Yuki Bhambri (76) and Sumit Nagal (143). Gunneswaran started playing competitively since 2009 but rose to prominence only last year when he achieved his career-best rank of 75th before finishing 2019 season at 79th position on rankings chart. Last year he qualified for Wimbledon main draw for first time where he managed to reach 3rd round where he lost out eventual semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets battle but was unable qualify for French Open or US open main draw during same period due lack of form during couple of tournaments leading upto Grand slams events.

Divij Sharan holds down one half of India’s top ranked men’s double team since 2013 when they began their partnership together professionally outside Davis Cup events too. Together they have achieved many incredible accomplishments including reaching their very own Grand Slam final at Wimbledon 2018 along with winning several other ATP titles all over Asia and Europe since then too. Divij Sharan currently holds his highest individual ranking or 90th place which he achieved earlier this year too and continues to be one of the most consistent performers on tour for India today without fail either with or without partner Rohan Bopanna too!

In addition to these names there are many more emerging talents like Ramkumar Ramanathan, Ankita Raina etc who are aiming high on international stage looking forward break into Top 100 rankings soon! Furthermore India’s Davis Cup team is currently World Group play offs winners being led by captain Rohit Rajpal who believes next generation can advance further under his guidance making Indians proud on international stage once again!

Conclusion

Indian tennis is a sport that has grown in popularity over the years, and India has seen some of its best players rise to the top of the game. With such a large population, it’s no surprise that India has become one of the most competitive countries in international tennis. From Grand Slam champions to Olympic medalists, Indian tennis players have made their mark on the world stage.

List of Indian tennis players with ATP & WTA rankings:

ATP	Name – men	WTA	Name – women
340.	Mukund, Sasi Kumar	266.	Raina, Ankita
348.	Gunneswaran, Prajnesh	268.	Thandi, Karman Kaur
435.	Ramanathan, Ramkumar	449.	Yamalapalli, Sahaja
503.	Nagal, Sumit	451.	Bhosale, Rutuja
553.	Bhambri, Yuki	562.	Chaudhari, Vaidehi
556.	Singh, Digvijay Pratap	582.	Bavisetti, Sowjanya
589.	Rawat, Sidharth	605.	Desai, Zeel
599.	Kadhe, Arjun	676.	Bhatia, Riya
662.	Sureshkumar, Manish	738.	Bhamidipaty, Shrivalli Rashmikaa
729.	Kaliyanda Poonacha, Niki	748.	Luikham, Jennifer
735.	Dev, S D Prajwal	850.	Baharmus, Humera
844.	Sinha, Nitin Kumar	959.	Balu, Sharmada
922.	Singh, Karan	985.	Yadlapalli, Pranjala
977.	Agarwal, Rishab	1031.	Chilakalapudi, Sravya Shivani
989.	Vishwakarma, Siddharth	1056.	Mummadi, Vineetha
1035.	Eqbal, Ishaque	1059.	Easwaramurthi, Ashmitha
1043.	Kalyanpur, Adil	1107.	Tatavarthy, Shreya
1082.	Reddy, Rishi	1127.	Chamarthi, Sai Samhitha
1139.	Vardhan, Vishnu	1137.	Sirimalla, Sanjana
1163.	Balaji, N. Sriram	1139.	Banerjee, Yubarani
1178.	Singh, Dalwinder	1156.	Bhasin, Smriti
1185.	Qamar, Faisal	1169.	Nitture, Akanksha Dileep
1274.	Shanmugam, Abhinav Sanjeev	1187.	Sama, Sathwika
1308.	Banthia, Siddhant	1228.	Shinde, Vasanti
1317.	Kamath, Madhwin	1241.	Rachapudi, Prathyusha
1373.	Suresh, Dhakshineswar	1301.	Aleen Qamar, Farhat
1373.	Vishal Balsekar, Aditya	1301.	Chilumula, Nidhi
1385.	Qamar, Fardeen	1301.	Sadiq, Soha
1404.	Javia, Dev
1430.	Kumaran, Bharath Nishok
1449.	Dabas, Nishant
1471.	Raja, Purav
1471.	Sharan, Divij
1488.	Myneni, Saketh
1488.	Virali-Murugesan, Ranjeet
1550.	Dahiya, Paras
1550.	Jaisinghani, Raghav
1632.	Bathrinath, Lohithaksha
1651.	Dattatray Kurale, Sandesh
1728.	Malik, Ajay
1728.	Sood, Lakshit
1816.	Khosla, Rushil
1871.	Bhatnagar, Shivank
1871.	Chaurasia, Yash
1871.	Mehra, Rohan
1871.	Singh, Jagmeet
1929.	Prabodh, Suraj R
1954.	Duhan, Chirag

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best Indian tennis player ever?

The best Indian tennis player of all time is undoubtedly Leander Paes. He has achieved immense success throughout his career, winning 18 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic bronze medal in 1996. He was the first Indian ever to reach the singles semifinals at a Grand Slam, doing so at the 2003 Australian Open.

Has any Indian played Wimbledon?

Yes, at least one Indian has played in Wimbledon. As far back as 1968, India’s Ramanathan Krishnan represented his country in the tournament, making it all the way to the quarterfinals. Additionally, Vijay Amritraj competed in the championships between 1973 and 1981, with a best finish of fourth-round appearance.

Who is the No 1 female tennis player in India?

The No. 1 female tennis player in India is Sania Mirza. She has been at the top of her game for more than a decade and is a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion. Sania has won numerous titles over the years, including six singles titles and 14 doubles titles on the WTA Tour as well as 38 ITF women’s Circuit titles.

Has any Indian won a Grand Slam?

No Indian has ever won a Grand Slam singles title, despite numerous players from India competing in the four major tournaments over the years.

Who won India’s only Olympic medal in tennis?

India’s only Olympic medal in tennis was won by a player named Leander Paes. He is a professional tennis player from India and achieved this incredible feat back in 1996 at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Who was the first Indian to win a medal in tennis?

The first Indian to win a medal in tennis was Leander Paes. He achieved this feat in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he won the bronze medal in Men’s Singles.