Top tennis players in India: Like most sports besides cricket, India has never been a powerhouse in tennis, despite a massive fan following in the nation. For the most part, it is the ignorance in the mainstream towards the sport.
While India has failed to produce greats of the game regularly, the Asian nation has a rich history of legendary racketeers gracing the sport on a global level.
Top Tennis Players in India with Yuki Bhambri
From Ramanath Krishnan’s legendary junior career in the first decade of Independence to the colorful playstyle and personality of Vijay Amritraj, and to modern greats like Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, and Mahesh Bhupathi. India has produced several tennis greats in her now 76 years of presence. It is now the turn of the current and future generations to stamp their names in the annals of tennis history and bring success in the sport to the country. Here are some of the top tennis players in India
Rohan Bopanna
In the twilight of his career at 43 years old, Rohan Bopanna has been one of the top tennis players in India for over two decades now. A part of India’s fabled class of great doubles players in the 21st century, alongside Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, and Mahesh Bhupathi, Bopanna has won several ATP and Masters tournaments. The Bangalore native also won the French Open mixed-doubles title in 2017 to add a grand slam to his legendary career.
Bopanna has the 2023 Asian Games ahead of him, where he will be the India tennis team’s most experienced playing member. He will also participate in the upcoming US Open.
Sumit Nagal
A former Junior Wimbledon boys’ doubles winner, Sumit Nagal was one of India’s brightest upcoming tennis prospects in the 2010s. The 26-year-old is now one of the top tennis players in India.
The highest-ranked men’s singles tennis player in India at 189th, Nagal has had sporadic success in ATP Challenger tournaments. He also faced Roger Federer in his Grand Slam debut at the 2019 US Open. Although he lost the match, he did manage to win the first set against the multi-time Grand Slam winner.
Ankita Raina
The only current tennis player in the top 200 in the women’s singles rankings, Ankita Raina has been a pro for 14 years. She is also only the second Indian female tennis player (after Sania Mirza) to win a WTA Tour title, winning a WTA 250 Phillip Island Trophy in Australia in 2021.
A former Asian Games’ Gold medallist, Ankita has won 29 titles in her career and will represent India in the upcoming Asian Games 2023.
Yuki Bhambri
In the list of Women top tennis players in India, Yuki Bhambri is one of the rare few Indian tennis players who cracked into the top-100 singles rankings, with his career-high being 89 in April 2018.
Yuki, whose sister Ankita Bhambri is also one of the top tennis players in India, had an excellent junior career. This included a silver medal at the 2010 Youth Olympics and an Australia Open Junior Championship title.
Now 31, Yuki Bhambri is now an experienced name in Indian tennis. He will participate in the 2023 US Open men’s doubles, and will also represent India in the 2023 Asian Games.
Other notable top tennis players in India include former Asian Games gold medallist Saket Myneni, former Aisn Games bronze medallist in men’s singles Prajnesh Gunneswaran, former 111 men’s ranked player Mankumar Ramanathan, and captain of the 2023 Asian Games women’s tennis team Ankita Bhambri
After returning from injury last year, Sumit Nagal has been in some form. By winning the Garden Open in Rome earlier this year, he became the first Indian to win a Challenger series on a European Clay court. He also bagged the Tempere Open in Finland ahead of his appearance in the upcoming Asian Games 2023.
With the ever-growing popularity of tennis in India, the sleeping giant of a country is expected to produce tennis stars in the coming years. With likes of 15-year-old Manas Dhamne are expected to carry the torch for the sport and become one of the top tennis players in India.
Although, this wagon can go both ways. At 43, Rohan Bopanna was the only Indian at Wimbledon. The veteran also showed worry about the current state of tennis in India. While the nation as a whole is showing interest in the game, a lack of indigenous stars might result in a lower interest in picking up the sport in the youth.
