Indian tennis legends Leander Paes; Indian sports commentator and promoter Vijay Amritraj; and British sports journalist and writer Richard Evans were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2024.
- Leander Paes was selected under Player Category and Vijay Amritraj and Richard Evans were selected under Contributer Cateogry.
- Paes and Amritraj have became the 1st two Indians to receive the honours and the 1st Asian men to be selected in their respective categories.
Note: With this, India has became the 28th nation represented in the Hall of Fame.
Class of 2024:
The Class of 2024 will be officially inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on 20th July 2024 in Newport, Rhode Island, the United States of America (USA).
- Leander Paes, Vijay Amritraj, and Richard Evans will join an elite group of 264 inductees from 28 nations, including India.
About International Tennis Hall of Fame:
i.Induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor in tennis. It offers three induction categories: Player, Contributor, and Wheelchair.
ii.The Player Category is eligible for induction annually, the Contributor Category is eligible every 2 years, and the Wheelchair Tennis Category is eligible every 4 years.
Note:
i.In 2019, Li Na, a former Chinese tennis player who won 2 Grand Slam Women singles titles, became the 1st Asian (woman) to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
ii.For 1st time in the history no one on the ballot was selected as a part of the Class of 2022. As a part of the Cass of 2023, No one was inducted under Player Category.
About Leander Paes:
i.He represented India in international competition for 30 years . He is an 18-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles (8 Grand Slam titles in doubles and 10 in mixed doubles).
ii.He is one of 3 men in tennis history to achieve a career Grand Slam in both doubles and mixed doubles.
iii.He also holds a record of 45 doubles wins in the Davis Cup. He participated in a record 7 consecutive Olympic Games, the most in tennis history.
iv.He won India’s only Olympic medal (bronze), in tennis in singles at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
v.He collected 55 doubles titles on the men’s tour and was ranked No. 1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) doubles rankings for 37 weeks.
About Vijay Amritraj:
i.Vijay Amritraj was a professional tennis player from 1970 to 1993. He helped India to reach the Davis Cup finals in 1974 and 1987.
ii.After his retirement in 1993, he became a broadcaster and administrator and currently serves as the president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA).
iii.He is a prominent voice in tennis broadcasting in Asia and has also served as an administrator for the ATP and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) events in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
iv.In 2001, he became the first Indian to serve as the United Nations (UN) Messenger of Peace.
About Richard Evans:
i.Since 1960, Evans reported on tennis, covering 200+ Grand Slams and numerous tournaments.
ii.He was one of the founding members of the International Tennis Writers’ Association and served as its president (2001-04).
iii.He authored 23 books, including Open Tennis: The First Twenty Years (1988); The Davis Cup (1999); and biographies of tennis legends.
Recent related News:
Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Salm title at the US Open 2023 by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium (Hard Court), New York City, New York, United States of America (USA).
About Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP):
ATP is a global governing body of men’s professional tennis circuits to serve tennis.
Chairman– Andrea Gaudenzi
Chief Executive Officer– Massimo Calvelli
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom (UK)
Formed in– September 1972
