Rhode Island: Indian tennis legends Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj became the first Asian players to be formally inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in a glittering ceremony. On Saturday, during the ceremony, both players raised the Tricolore high in honor as they were formally inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Amritraj, now 70, reached his peak singles and doubles years at the ages of 18 and 23 respectively. He won 13 doubles and 15 singles titles during a career that spanned more than two decades.

Paes, who also played from 1991-2021, had peak rankings of No. 73 in singles and No. 1 in doubles. The Kolkata-born star won a total of one singles title and 54 doubles titles, winning every Grand Slam event i.e. the Australian Open (2012), the French Open (1999, 2001 and 2009), Wimbledon (1999) and US Open (2006, 2009 and 2013). He also holds an Olympic medal in tennis, having won a bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the men’s singles competition, making him the first Asian in Olympic history to win a tennis medal and to this day the only Indian to do so.

Paes said it was special to have two Indians inducted into the Hall of Fame and thanked Amritraj for the faith he had in him when he was young and for being there at his academy, which helped him further develop his craft.

“I think it’s very special that two Indians are inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Paes told ATPTour.com.

“I have so much respect for Vijay and what he gave me as a young boy and the opportunity he gave me at his academy, but also for his mother and father, Mr and Mrs Amritraj, for their support and belief in me,” he added.

Amritraj and Paes’ careers are intertwined, as the latter was part of Amritraj’s academy. The 70-year-old had doubts about his career after struggling with lung problems as a youngster.

Amritraj recalled battling a lung disease and his mother telling him he would become one of India’s best tennis players who would later play all over the world. He said his mother’s “strength and belief” was ingrained in him.

“You’re lying in a hospital bed and your mother tells you that you’re going to be the best tennis player ever in India and that you’re going to play all over the world. Indians from all over the world come to watch you play,” Amritraj recalls.

“What does she tell you at age seven? Not that she knew, because she hadn’t been there. So it’s not like she’s speaking from experience or anything. But it was the strength and faith of a mother that was embedded in me. So when it finally happened, and you get something like this award, my whole life from age seven to 70 flashed before my eyes, and everything I did,” he added.

Amritraj made a name for himself early in his career, reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon at the age of 19. Interestingly, the current champion, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, did not reach the quarter-finals of this tournament until he was 20, when he won the title.

Amritaj also led India to two Davis Cup finals. Although he could never win a Grand Slam title, he showed millions of children in India that success and fame in tennis was possible.

He thanked his parents, Bob and Maggie, for encouraging him to dream bigger.

“They took on the challenge of saying you are going to be much more than that, where the world comes to look at you. And I don’t know what they meant by that,” Amritraj said.

“They were two ordinary people who ended up doing extraordinary things in my life. I had very little to do with it. I was just born to them, the best parents I’ve ever known. And that’s after (my mother) had two terrible accidents in her 30s. So they taught me parenting like I’ve never seen in my life,” he added.

Paes came from a sporting family that had already made Indians proud on the world stage, with his father Vece being part of the 1972 bronze medal-winning Olympic hockey team. His mother, Jennifier, was also the captain of the basketball team in the same event.

The Kolkata-born boy was interested in cricket and football as a child, but his parents and Amritraj proved that you can make a career out of other sports too.

Paes said the Amritraj family has done a lot for tennis.

“The Amritraj family has done a lot for the sport and a big congratulations to Vijay for being inducted into the Hall of Fame in the ‘contributors’ category. It is so fitting that he actually gave me that opportunity,” he said.

Paes ultimately won only one singles title, but he managed to create an enviable doubles championship resume, winning 54. His only singles title came at Newport, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Amritraj, a three-time Newport singles champion.

Both have had a lasting impact on their country’s sporting and tennis history.

Amritraj said it is unthinkable that he could have done what he did because he achieved great things in tennis at a time when it was not meant for him. Not only was he struggling with health issues, but India was also not a big player in the sport.

“This incredible legacy of people who consider this place a museum long after I am gone is really, really unimaginable. I can’t put any thoughts or words into it because it’s not just saying that impossible is nothing. It’s much more than that. It’s more a question, for me at least, of India in the Hall of Fame, the tricolour and the national anthem. And for me that’s the most important thing, because I did it as an Indian at a time when it shouldn’t have been,” he concluded.

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