Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian tennis great Leander Paes once against etched his name into history books as he became the first Asian man to be nominated as a player in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The multiple Grand Slam winner got nominated alongside the likes of Cara Black, Carlos Moya and others for the Class of 2024.
The 54-year-old, who announced his retirement in 2021 is one of the six nominees which included Cara Black, Ana Ivanovic, Carlos Moya, Daniel Nestor and Flavia Pennetta in the Player Category. Besides Paes, former Indian player Vijay Amritraj also finds his name in the Contributor Category.
The seven-time Olympian took to Twitter after finding his name as one of the nominees and wrote, “It means the world to me that I have the honour of being the 1 st ever Indian player to be nominated by the International Tennis Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024.”
“After 3 decades of passion for tennis and representing more than a billion Indians in the Olympics, Grand Slams, and Davis Cup, I am thrilled and humbled that my hard work has been recognised by the pre-eminent institution of our sport,” he further added.
It is to be noted that Paes is the winner of 18 Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles category. He has also been the No. 1 ranked player in the doubles. The 50-year-old also holds the record in Davis Cup history to hold 43 doubles ties victories. Additionally, Paes became India’s only Olympic medallist (bronze) in tennis in 1996.
