Throughout the years, the popularity of tennis in India has increased. Indian tennis players such as Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, and Mahesh Bhupathi have become global superstars. Even in a cricket-crazy nation like India, our tennis quartet is as famous as the cricketing legends. While these four players may represent the best of Indian tennis, several other stars have also played a massive role in shaping the future of the sport in the country. Indian Tennis history is full of exceptional talents who have made an incredible mark on the sport. To be considered the best tennis player, one must have achieved remarkable success to be at the top of Tennis grand slam winners. In this blog, we take a look at the top 5 Indian tennis players of all time.

Check out the list of the top 5 Indian tennis players of all time

1. Leander Paes - 18 Grand Slam Titles

Leander Paes, a junior US Open and Wimbledon champion, turned professional in 1991. In 1996, he made history by winning the singles bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games, becoming the first Indian tennis player to achieve such a feat since wrestler KD Jadhav won bronze in 1952. He secured the medal by defeating Brazilian player Fernando Meligeni. Leander Paes achieved the defining moment of his illustrious career in singles and earned his place in the Tennis Hall of Fame as a doubles player. Paes is considered the best tennis player in India and has won the highest grand slam titles by an Indian. Passionate Tennis players can never forget the Indian Wells Masters qualifying tournament, where Paes took on a young Roger Federer, who went on to be on the list of highest grand slam titles. Leander Paes has won eight men's doubles Grand Slam titles: Wimbledon (1999), French Open (1999, 2001, and 2009), Australian Open (2012), and US Open (2006, 2009, and 2013). In mixed doubles, Leander Paes has won an impressive medal collection. He has won the Wimbledon title four times, the Australian Open three times, the US Open twice, and the French Open once. Paes was ranked as the No. 1 doubles tennis player in the world in 1999 and holds the record for the most doubles wins at the Davis Cup.

2. Mahesh Bhupathi - 12 Grand Slam Titles

Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes were close partners during the early years of Paes' doubles career. Mahesh Bhupathi holds a unique record in Indian tennis as he was the first Indian tennis player to win a Grand Slam. He achieved this feat by winning the 1997 French Open mixed doubles title with Japan's Rika Hiraki. During the period when he and Leander Paes won three Grand Slam titles together from 1999 to 2001, Mahesh Bhupathi was often overshadowed by Paes. Talking about the Tennis news, Bhupathi is second on the Indian tennis Grand Slam winners list and has established himself as one of the best Indian tennis players. He won the 2002 US Open doubles title with Max Mirnyi and also achieved success in mixed doubles, winning a total of eight Grand Slam titles, with victories at each major tournament twice. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes narrowly missed out on a doubles bronze medal. The duo reached the semi-finals but lost in the bronze medal match to the Croatian team of Mario Ančić and Ivan Ljubičić. However, the pair did win the bronze medal together at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

3. Sania Mirza - 6 Grand Slam Titles

At the 1998 Australian Open, Nirupama Sanjeev made history as the first Indian woman tennis player to win a Grand Slam match. However, beyond this achievement, India had little to celebrate in the top tiers of women's tennis. Sania Mirza's rise to prominence marked a significant change in Indian tennis. As a Wimbledon girls' doubles champion, she became the first Indian woman singles player to win a WTA title at the Hyderabad Open in 2005. To this day, she remains the only Indian woman to achieve this feat in a WTA singles event. In 2009, Sania became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam by securing the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open with Mahesh Bhupathi. Two years later, they also won the French Open. Sania's third mixed doubles Grand Slam victory was at the 2014 US Open with Brazilian player Bruno Soares. In 2015, Sania partnered with Swiss legend Martina Hingis. Dubbed "Santina" by fans, the duo went on an amazing 44-match winning streak and secured three consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles Wimbledon 2015, US Open 2015, and French Open 2016. During this time, Sania also became the first Indian woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA Player ranking. Apart from her Grand Slam titles, Sania holds a remarkable 43 WTA doubles titles.

4. Rohan Bopanna - 2 Grand Slam Titles

Barring Leander and Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna is the only other Indian male Grand Slam winner. He achieved this feat at the 2017 French Open mixed doubles event, winning with Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski. Rohan Bopanna won the men's doubles title at the 2024 Australian Open alongside Matthew Ebden. At 43, he became the oldest man to win a Grand Slam title and the oldest tennis player to be ranked world No. 1 in doubles. Rohan Bopanna partnered with Sania Mirza and reached the semi-finals at the Rio 2016 mixed-doubles event. However, they lost the bronze medal match to the Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek. Bopanna holds the record for being the oldest tennis player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title. He achieved this feat by claiming the 2023 Indian Wells Masters crown with Ebden at the age of 43. Rohan Bopanna will team up with either N Sriram Balaji or Yuki Bhambri as his doubles partner for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, and the All India Tennis Association (AITA) will likely approve his decision even as the combinations will be discussed by the selection committee.

5. Ramanathan Krishnan - The father of Indian Tennis

Ramanathan Krishnan is considered the father of Indian tennis, and his accomplishments in the singles draw have not been surpassed by any other Indian player. His peers described him as graceful, calm, composed, and possessing a light touch. Unlike today's players known for their powerful groundstrokes and serves, Krishnan excelled at serve and volley, showcasing deft control and agility. Rather than thumping the ball, he would gently guide it. In the 1960s, almost a decade after India gained independence, Indian tennis began to make a mark on the international stage. Ramanathan Krishnan was the first Asian player to win the Wimbledon boys' singles title in 1954, defeating the future four-time Grand Slam champion Ashley Cooper in the final. Although his senior career did not reach the same heights as his junior career, the Indian tennis player from Tamil Nadu consistently performed well at Grand Slam tournaments. Some of Ramanathan Krishnan's most famous victories include beating the legendary Rod Laver in the 1959 Davis Cup and 12-time Grand Slam singles champion Roy Emerson in the 1961 Wimbledon quarterfinals. In the 1966 Davis Cup final against Australia, Ramanathan Krishnan and his partner Jaidip Mukerjea defeated John Newcombe and Tony Roche, who were the reigning Wimbledon doubles champions.

Highest grand slam titles won by Indian tennis players