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The firsts of Indian Tennis

The firsts of Indian Tennis
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By

Abhijit Nair

Published: 20 Oct 2020 11:01 AM GMT

India has had quite a lot of success in Tennis. There have been Olympics medals, Grand Slam victories, world number one rankings and whatnot. Here, we look at some of the first time achievements in Indian tennis:

First Indian to reach a Junior Grand Slam Final

Rita Davar was the first Indian to reach the finals of Junior Grand Slam. She achieved this feat in the 1952 Wimbledon. Prior to reaching the final of Wimbledon, Rita had not even won a single National Championship. She was the first-ever Indian to reach the final of a Grand Slam singles.

First Queens of Indian tennis and the reign of Rita Davar

First Indian to win Junior Grand Slam

Ramanathan Krishnan was the first-ever Indian to win a Junior Grand Slam. Krishnan created history during the 1954 Wimbledon. Krishnan is widely regarded as the best ever singles player to emerge out of India. Later he also went on to reach the semifinals of 1960 senior Wimbledon singles.

First Indian to win a Grand Slam

Mahesh Bhupati became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam when he teamed up with Rika Hiraki of Japan in the mixed doubles during the 1997 French Open. He formed a potent pair with countrymen Leander Paes for men’s doubles. But it was the mixed double where he found the most success, winning five Grand Slam titles.

How the Paes & Bhupathi friendship forged a new era in Indian tennis with grand slam success

The only player to win Grand Slams in three different decades

Leander Paes is the first and only Indian to win Grand Slam titles in three different decades. He achieved this feat when he won the 2010 mixed doubles Wimbledon title pairing up with Zimbabwean Cara Black. This win also made him only the second person ever to win Grand Slam titles in three different decades. The first person to have this unique record was Australian Rod Laver.

Why Leander Paes moved from doubles to singles tennis in 1996 Olympics?

First Indian woman to win a Grand Slam match

Nirupama Sanjeev became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam match in the modern era when she beat Italy’s Gloria Pizzichini in the 1998 Australian Open. She was also the first Indian woman to break into top 200 in World Singles Rankings.

First Indian woman to win a Grand Slam

Sania Mirza (Source: Twitter/SagarInfluence) Sania Mirza (Source: Twitter/SagarInfluence)

Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam when she partnered with Mahesh Bhupati to win the 2009 Australian Open mixed doubles title. She later went on to win six more Grand Slam titles and is the best female tennis player to come out of India.

First Indian woman to be ranked World Number 1

Sania Mirza was the first Indian woman to be ranked World Number 1. She achieved this feat along with her doubles partner from Switzerland, Martina Hingis, during April 2015. She was at the top spot for 91 consecutive weeks, which is the fourth highest time period in the history of women’s doubles.

The greatest Indian tennis players of all time

First Indian to win an Olympic medal in Tennis

Leander Paes became the first Indian tennis player to win an Olympic medal when he clinched the bronze medal in men’s singles during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It’s been 24 years since, and he remains the only tennis player from India to have an Olympic medal against his name. Paes entered the1996 Olympics as a wildcard and lost only in the semifinals against the legendary Andre Agassi. He then went on to win his third-place match against the Brazilian Fernando Meligeni to bring home India’s first and only Olympic medal in Tennis.

Also read: Why the lack of clay courts hurt India’s standards in singles tennis?

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