The Most Famous
TENNIS PLAYERS from India
This page contains a list of the greatest Indian Tennis Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,569 Tennis Players, 10 of which were born in India. This makes India the birth place of the 30th most number of Tennis Players behind Hungary, and Slovenia.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Indian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Indian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Indian Tennis Players.
1. George Caridia (1869 - 1937)
With an HPI of 43.24, George Caridia is the most famous Indian Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.
George Aristides Caridia (Greek: Γεώργιος Αριστείδης Καρυδιάς; 20 February 1869 – 21 April 1937) was a British male tennis player and a two-time Olympic silver medalist.
2. Rohan Bopanna (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 39.39, Rohan Bopanna is the 2nd most famous Indian Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.
Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( bə-PAHN-ə; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the world No. 1 ranking after winning his first major doubles title at the 2024 Australian Open with Matthew Ebden, becoming the oldest first-time No. 1 at the age of 43. Bopanna had a partnership with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan for several years, with the pair known as the IndoPak Express. They were runners-up at the 2010 US Open. Bopanna was a finalist at the ATP World Tour Finals in 2012 and 2015 with different partners. He has won two major titles in doubles: at the 2017 French Open mixed doubles alongside Gabriela Dabrowski (becoming the fourth Indian major winner after Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza) and the 2024 Australian Open, becoming the oldest major winner in the Open Era in the latter. Bopanna also reached major finals at the 2018 and 2023 Australian Opens in mixed doubles; and in the 2023 US Open men's doubles. Bopanna has also won 26 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including six at the Masters 1000 level, with a title at the 2024 Miami Open making him the oldest Masters winner. Bopanna was a member of the Indian Davis Cup team from 2002 to 2023, and competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
3. Ramanathan Krishnan (b. 1937)
With an HPI of 38.65, Ramanathan Krishnan is the 3rd most famous Indian Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Ramanathan Krishnan (born 11 April 1937) is a retired tennis player from India who was among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. He was twice a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1961, reaching as high as World No. 3 in Potter's amateur rankings. He led India to the Challenge Round of the 1966 Davis Cup against Australia and was the non playing captain when Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj led India into the 1974 Davis Cup finals against South Africa. He was active from 1953 to 1975 and won 69 singles titles.
4. Sania Mirza (b. 1986)
With an HPI of 38.52, Sania Mirza is the 4th most famous Indian Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 55 different languages.
Sania Mirza (ˈsaːnijaː ˈmirzaː; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian former professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles in 2013, she was ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as the No. 1 Indian in singles. Throughout her career, Mirza has established herself as one of the most known, highest-paid, and influential athletes in India. In singles, Mirza had wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, and Marion Bartoli, as well as former world-number-ones Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina, and Victoria Azarenka. She is the highest-ranked Indian female player ever, peaking at world No. 27 in mid-2007. However, a major wrist injury caused her to shift to doubles. Mirza has achieved a number of firsts for women's tennis in India, including reaching the one million-US$ mark in career earnings (currently over US$7.2 million), winning a singles WTA Tour title, and winning a major title, as well as qualifying for (and eventually winning) the WTA Finals in 2014 in doubles partnering Cara Black, and defending her title the following year partnering Martina Hingis. Mirza retired from professional tennis in February 2023. She is one of only two Indian women to win a WTA Tour title, and the only one to be ranked within the top 100 in singles. Mirza is the third Indian woman in the Open Era (after Nirupama Mankad and Nirupama Sanjeev, and the second in singles after Sanjeev) to contest and win a match at a major, and the first to advance past the second round. In doubles, Mirza won 43 titles and spent 91 weeks as world No. 1. In 2005, Mirza was crowned the Newcomer of the Year by the WTA, and in 2015 she and Martina Hingis were the Doubles Team of the Year, going on to earn a 44-match winning streak, one of the longest in history. Mirza has also won a total of 14 medals (including six golds) at three major multi-sport events, namely the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Afro-Asian Games. Mirza was named one of the "50 Heroes of Asia" by Time in October 2005. In March 2010, The Economic Times named Mirza in its list of the "33 women who made India proud". She was appointed as the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November 2013. She was named in Time magazine's 2016 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
5. Leander Paes (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 37.83, Leander Paes is the 5th most famous Indian Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.
Leander Adrian Paes ( PAYSS; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-time and holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men's doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He made a total of 34 Grand Slam finals across men's and mixed doubles in his career which is the joint 2nd highest of all-time among men. He holds a career Grand Slam in men's doubles and mixed doubles making him one of only three men in the Open era to achieve this distinction and won the rare men's/mixed double at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships. Paes, together with Mahesh Bhupathi, were the first pair in Open era history to reach the men's doubles finals of all 4 Grand Slams in the same calendar year (1999). His mixed doubles Wimbledon title in 2015 made him the second man (after Rod Laver) to win Wimbledon titles in three different decades. and he also repeated the feat winning a Roland Garros title in three different decades with his mixed doubles title in 2016. Paes received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honor, in 1996–97; the Arjuna Award in 1990; the Padma Shri award in 2001; and India's third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan prize in January 2014, for his outstanding contributions to tennis. He won a bronze medal for India in men's singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games making him the 1st Asian in Olympic history to win a tennis medal and the only Indian till date. He competed in consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2016, making him the first Indian and the only tennis player to compete in seven Olympic Games. He is also the most decorated male tennis player in Asian Games history with 5 Golds and 3 Bronzes winning medals in every category (singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team event) and the highest Indian gold medal winning athlete across all sports in Asian Games history. He is a former Davis Cup team captain, where in addition his Davis Cup all-time doubles win record with 45 victories, he also has the 4th highest number of overall wins in Davis Cup history with 93 total victories across singles and doubles in a 30 year career for India with match wins in 4 different decades. He played in World Team Tennis for the Washington Kastles. He was on the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 championship teams and was named Male MVP for 2009 and 2011. Paes retired from professional tennis in 2020, following his last Davis Cup tie in Croatia, with a world record 1295 weeks spent ranked in the Top 100 in men's doubles. On July 20, 2024, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.
6. Mahesh Bhupathi (b. 1974)
With an HPI of 35.67, Mahesh Bhupathi is the 6th most famous Indian Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles, he joined the elite group of eight tennis players who have achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. He is also the founder of International Premier Tennis League. In December 2016, Bhupathi was appointed as India's next non-playing Davis Cup captain and took over the reins from Anand Amritraj in February 2017.
7. Ramesh Krishnan (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 32.14, Ramesh Krishnan is the 7th most famous Indian Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Ramesh Krishnan (born 5 June 1961) is an Indian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. As a junior player in the late 1970s, he won the singles titles at both, Wimbledon and the French Open. He went on to reach three Grand Slam quarterfinals in the 1980s and was a part of the Indian team captained by Vijay Amritraj which reached the final of the Davis Cup in 1987 against Sweden. Krishnan also beat then-world No. 1, Mats Wilander, at the 1989 Australian Open. He became India's Davis Cup captain in 2007.
8. Ankita Raina (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 22.61, Ankita Raina is the 8th most famous Indian Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Ankita Raina (born 11 January 1993) is an Indian tennis player. Since 2018, she was the India's female number one in singles and doubles, but in 2024 she was dethroned by Sahaja Yamalapalli in the singles category. Raina has won one title on the WTA Tour and one WTA 125 tournament (both in doubles), along with 11 singles and 25 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In April 2018, she entered the top 200 in the singles rankings for the first time, becoming only the fifth player representing India to achieve this feat. Raina has also won gold medals in the women's singles and mixed-doubles events at the 2016 South Asian Games, and a bronze medal in singles at the 2018 Asian Games. Raina is one of only two women representing India who have won a WTA Tour-level title. Playing for India Billie Jean King Cup team, Raina has a win–loss record of 33–29. She has notable wins over 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur, Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, former world No. 5 Sara Errani, and multiple doubles Grand Slam champion Barbora Strýcová.
9. Somdev Devvarman (b. 1985)
With an HPI of 20.93, Somdev Devvarman is the 9th most famous Indian Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Somdev Kishore Devvarman (born 13 February 1985) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals in his junior and senior years at the University of Virginia. Only three other players have matched that record since 1950. His 44–1 win–loss record in 2008 at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship is unprecedented. His best achievement on the ATP World Tour was reaching the final of the Chennai Open in 2009, as a wild card entry. In 2010, Somdev won the gold medal in the men's singles event of XIXth Commonwealth Games at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium in New Delhi, and he followed it up with both men's singles and doubles gold in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He was coached by Scott McCain. In 2011, Devvarman received the Arjuna Award from the Indian government for his tennis successes. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed him as the national observer for tennis. In 2018, he was awarded with the civilian award Padma Shri.
10. Yuki Bhambri (b. 1992)
With an HPI of 16.99, Yuki Bhambri is the 10th most famous Indian Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Yuki Bhambri (born 4 July 1992) is an Indian professional tennis player who currently specializes in doubles. He has an ATP career-high doubles ranking of world No. 42 achieved on 23 September 2024. He also has a career-high singles ranking of No. 83 achieved on 16 April 2018. He is a former junior no. 1 and winner of the 2009 Australian Open Junior Championship. He is the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open title and the fourth Indian in history to capture a junior singles title at a Grand Slam championship. He represents India in the Davis Cup.
People
Pantheon has 12 people classified as Indian tennis players born between 1869 and 1994. Of these 12, 11 (91.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Indian tennis players include Rohan Bopanna, Ramanathan Krishnan, and Sania Mirza. The most famous deceased Indian tennis players include George Caridia. As of April 2024, 2 new Indian tennis players have been added to Pantheon including George Caridia, and Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Living Indian Tennis Players
Go to all Rankings
Rohan Bopanna
1980 - Present
HPI: 39.39
Ramanathan Krishnan
1937 - Present
HPI: 38.65
Sania Mirza
1986 - Present
HPI: 38.52
Leander Paes
1973 - Present
HPI: 37.83
Mahesh Bhupathi
1974 - Present
HPI: 35.67
Ramesh Krishnan
1961 - Present
HPI: 32.14
Ankita Raina
1993 - Present
HPI: 22.61
Somdev Devvarman
1985 - Present
HPI: 20.93
Yuki Bhambri
1992 - Present
HPI: 16.99
Ramkumar Ramanathan
1994 - Present
HPI: 16.69
Shikha Uberoi
1983 - Present
HPI: 14.29
