Top five Indian tennis doubles pairs of all-time

Some of these pairs have won ATP Tour titles while others have gone on to win Grand Slams.

India can be termed a developing tennis-playing nation. The country has still leaps and bounds to go if it really wants to establish itself as a tennis superpower. For instance, India is yet to produce a singles Grand Slam winner. It is yet to deliver an Olympic gold medal winner. Despite that this subcontinent country has produced some stars.

These players might not have tasted success as individuals but in pairs have seemed formidable. So much so that their achievements are definitely worth a mention. Whenever these players have paired up their chemistry, spark and gameplay have complimented each other to perfection. Some of them have found success at the ATP Tour while others have gone on to win Grand Slams.

Here's a list of the top five Indian doubles pairings:

5. Saketh Mynani/Yuki Bhambri

The YukiSaki pair joined hands together to win the ITF event in India first and then slowly started winning over the Challengers. The pair have won five ATP challengers to date. Yuki who was predominantly a singles player shifted his focus to doubles in 2021. Together the Indian pairing found many successes.

They made it to the quarter-finals of the Sarasota Open and made it to the semis of the Morelos Open. Scored upsets over 4th seeds Skandar Mansouri and Michail Pervolarakis during that time. Out of all these, the most notable of their title exploits was at the Prostejov Challenger. They were defeated by 3rd seeds Denys Molchanov and Franko Skugor in the quarter-finals. Top seeds Alexander Erler and Lukas Miedler in the semis in straight sets.

Lastly, they followed it up with a victory over 2nd seed Roman Jebavy and Andrej Martin in the finals.

4. Ramkumar Ramanathan/Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna is one of India's specialist doubles players today. Bopanna already has seen decent success at the Grand Slams. His pairing with Dutch partner Matwe Middelkoop saw him reach the semis of the French Open. While on the other Ramkumar too climbed the rankings in doubles.

He started the year outside the top 120 in doubles but made it within the top 100. Despite still searching for his big breakthrough in singles Ramkumar has found a good footing in his doubles career. He is currently ranked 66th and his pairing with Rohan has also borne fruit. He won both the Maharashtra Open and Adelaide International teaming with Rohan.

The pair beat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo (7-6, 6-1) and Luke Saville and John Patrick Smith (6-7, 6-3 [10-6]).

3. Anand Amritraj/Vijay Amritraj

The Amritraj brothers were the pioneers of Indian men's doubles tennis back in the day. Vijay and Anand won one tournament after the other. In fact, they had become household names. The brothers won tournaments on clay, hard and carpet and used their teamwork with perfection.

More so as they were not just partners or teammates but brothers. Their understanding had that natural rhythm. Their first victory came in Bombay in 1974. They won in straight sets over Australian pair Dick Crealy and Onny Parun (6-4, 7-6). With their last one coming in 1982 in Chicago. The pair won a total of 8 Grand Slams together.

2. Sania Mirza/Mahesh Bhupathi

Finally the only mixed doubles Indian pair on this list. Two of India's stalwart players both in the men's and women's divisions respectively. Bhupathi and Mirza won 2009 Australian Open and the 2012 French Open.

In the 2009 Australian Open they came in as wild cards and shocked the world. Winning all but one of their games in straight sets. In the finals, they made easy work of the Israeli French pair of Andy Ram and Nathalie Dechy (6-3, 6-1). In the 2012 French Open finals, however, there were no such hiccups. They won all their games in straight sets. Eventually lifting the prestigious title in the clay court.

1. Leader Paes/Mahesh Bhupathi

Talking of doubles legends how can the greatest-ever doubles pair be left out? Yes, it is undoubtedly the pairing of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. The only Indian pair to become world no 1 in tennis. The pair of Lee and Hesh did just that. On 26th April 1999, they have crowned the top-seeded doubles players.

Moreover, they were also the first Indian pair to win a Grand Slam doubles title. They won the 1999 French Open. The Peas and Bhupathi teams have done wonders in every tournament. Though both are officially retired now their legacy will surely remain etched in tennis folklore for centuries.