Leander Paes Biography, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Facts, Caste, Wiki & More

Leander Adrian Paes is a professional Indian tennis player. He is one of the best doubles and mixed doubles players in tennis. He is a graduate of St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta. His parents were the sportsperson. His father played Hockey while his mother played Basketball.

 

Leander Paes started his tennis career by enrolling in Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy, Madras. Leander earned his fame worldwide by winning Wimbledon Junior Title in 1990 and was at no 1 position in world junior rankings. After that in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he beat Fernando Meligeni, to win the bronze medal. He was the first Indian to win the bronze medal after KD Jadhav won the medal in 1952. Also in 1996, he was awarded “Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna” by the Government of India. After teaming up with Mahesh Bhupathi, they both won many medals for India in doubles and mixed doubles. In 1999, both of them won the Wimbledon and the French Open, thus becoming the only Indian pair to win Grand Slam at the doubles event. Both of them also won the Gold medal in the Asain Games, 2002. Leander also partnered with Sania Mirza, Ciara Black, Martina Navratilova, and Michael Hill, and many others. In  2001, Leander was awarded “Padmashri” by the Government of India. Leander has also tried his luck in the film industry. He made his debut in “Rajdhani Express”, a political movie.

 

Leander has won many titles including 8 doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He is also the sports ambassador of Haryana state, India. The opponents say that he is a jumping bean and is always energetic. These things have not changed even after he turned 40. He is in his late 40s and is still playing. His form over the years though has dipped but his confidence is still very high. He has been conferred with Padma Shri and Padma Bhusan Award for his contribution to Indian tennis. He is arguably a living legend and has inspired a lot of kids in India to play tennis.