Former tennis player Leander Paes on Wednesday lamented the decline of Indian tennis, describing it as part of the “circle of life” while emphasising the need for patience, reported The Hindu.
The Indian team endured a 0-4 defeat by Sweden in their Davis Cup World Group I tie recently, which relegated them to the play-off stage next year.
“Like anything in life, when you go up, you have to come down, and then you come back up again. I am a big believer in the circle of life,” the former world No. 1 in doubles told PTI.
“I think we all need to have a little bit of patience as far as tennis goes. We have all enjoyed such an upswing over the last 40 years, proving that we can be number one in both women’s doubles and men’s doubles.”
Currently, Sumit Nagal is the only Indian in the top 100 of the ATP men’s singles rankings, positioned at 83, while Ramkumar Ramanathan follows at 332.
At 44 years, Rohan Bopanna remains the flag-bearer of men’s doubles in India, currently ranked sixth, with another veteran, Yuki Bhambri, at 43rd.
The WTA rankings reveal a grim situation for Indian women’s tennis, with no player in the top 200; Sahaja Yamalapalli is the highest-ranked Indian at 293.
From 2003 to 2013, Sania Mirza was ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association as the No. 1 Indian in singles, reaching a career high of No. 27 in the WTA rankings in 2007.
Throughout her career, Mirza won three Grand Slam titles in doubles. She retired in 2023.
Paes, 51, further highlighted the significant growth of tennis in India over the past four decades, noting its rise to become the second most popular sport after cricket.
“Over the four decades that I played, tennis grew in popularity so much that it became the number two sport in the country after cricket,” Paes, the winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, said.
“Between Sania, Mahesh (Bhupathi), Bopanna and me, we have collectively won close to 40 Grand Slam titles, along with Olympic medals and several Asian Games medals. Tennis saw a great period over about 40 years.
“A little bit of patience is needed; the circle of life is playing out. We will experience a slump, but we will rise again.
“The circle of life is evident in everything – business or otherwise. The greatest key to success is patience. I have no doubt that tennis will rise again to the top in India.”
