Amritraj, Paes and Evans inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

NEWPORT — A pair of firsts and a longtime contributor have been enshrined by the International Tennis Hall of Fame .

Leander Paes entered Newport’s hallowed grounds as the inaugural Hall of Famer from India as a player. And Vijay Amritraj, also from India, earned his moment in Newport Casino as the first Asian man inducted as a contributor . The pair were joined in this year’s class by journalist Richard Evans after his more than six decades of coverage dedicated to the sport.

Paes’ stunning career, which spans 30 years, includes a record seven Olympic Games and the 51-year-old also seized eight men's doubles Grand Slam championships. His bronze medal triumph at the Atlanta Games in 1996 remains India’s only tennis medal at the Olympics.

“Today sitting here at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, I wouldn't have ever dreamt it,” Paes said. “Playing street cricket and street football barefoot back in Calcutta, India, one would have never dreamt that not just one but two young Indian boys get to sit on the podium.”

Amritraj’s tennis career is marked with a career-high rank of 18 in 1980. Now 70, he won Newport’s tournament three different times, in 1976, 1980 and 1984, and represented India as the ATP president from 1989 to 1993. And in 2001, he was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace and remains the only tennis player to receive the honor.

“Making sure that India was always represented, every single place I played, whether it was a flag, whether it was the anthem, whether it was for four people sitting there or 4,000 people sitting [was important],” Amritraj said. “It was meant to be India on the world stage and in our sport. And to me, that was always a top priority.”

Related: Infosys Hall of Fame Open expands to include women's tournament in 2025

Paes recounted a story from 1986 when he first met Evans in India. Evans was writing Amritraj’s autobiography at the time, and as Paes remembers, the writer told the then 11-year-old when they were both attending the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy that he could one day, with hard work, reach the sport’s pinnacle. The pair, nearly 40 years later, entered the Hall together on Thursday.

“If you want an example of how men and women from every conceivable background, race, creed, color, can all work together … then the tennis tour is it,” Evans said. “To be selected, to be part of the very special family that exists within that broader family, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is something obviously that I'm very proud of.”

Paes’ lone ATP singles title was achieved at Newport in 1998 and his ’96 medal now resides in the museum. Playing, and winning, the Davis Cup was especially important to Paes, who compiled a match record of 93-35 — 48-22 in singles, 45-13 in doubles. But part of his inspiration came from the man sitting to his right at Newport Casino.

“I think it's a very, very proud moment for all Indians across the world,” Paes said. “[Amritraj] has been a beacon of inspiration to every young kid in India, how with hard work and passion you can become a champion.”

“I feel that it's been a very close relationship between me and the country and the people,” Amritraj said of India. “The 30 million or so people who live overseas that have made an impact on the world and where India is today.”

jrousseau@providencejournal.com

On X: @ByJacobRousseau

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Amritraj, Paes and Evans inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame