List of Indian tennis players to win 1000 Masters titles

Many Indian tennis legends have won ATP and WTA 1000 Masters titles over the years.

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in India, with top stars enjoying a huge fan following. The game was introduced in the late 1800s when the British Army used to play it in India. With regular tournaments being held in the 1900s, India formed a team that represented the nation in the Davis Cup and had tasted success against countries like France and Spain during the 1920s.

The sport gained popularity when Indian players began performing well in top tournaments. The likes of Ramanathan Krishnan and his son Ramesh Krishnan, along with the Amirtraj Brothers, carried the legacy from the 1950s to the 1990s. Indian players began winning Grand Slams and Olympic medals in the 1990s, which has made the sport what it is in the country.

Sania Mirza was an inspiration for Indian women to take up the sport. Apart from the Indians, the biggest stars since the millennium, such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, have a huge fan following. Indians not only follow Grand Slams but also top ATP tournaments.

The ATP / WTA 1000 Masters — a set of nine tournaments across the calendar year — features the biggest stars battling it out. Indian players have won titles over the years, and here we take a look at the players who have been the winners.

4. Rohan Bopanna – 6 Titles

Rohan Bopanna has carried forward Indian tennis after the Lee-Hesh era. Interestingly, Bopanna won his first Masters 1000 title in 2011, the same year when the Lee-Hesh pair played together for the last time. He partnered with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the Paris Masters. The fallout of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi led to Bopanna forming a team with the latter.

The duo were brilliant together in their first year, making it to the last four in three of the first five ATP 1000 masters. They reached the finals in Cincinnati and Shanghai and then capped a successful year by winning their first Masters title together in Paris. After Bhupathi’s retirement, Bopanna won titles with several partners.

His partnership with Florin Mergea got him the Madrid Open in 2015, and he paired with Pablo Cuevas to lift the Monte Carlo Masters in 2017.

The rebirth of Bopanna came in 2023 when he forged a new partnership with Mathew Ebden. They made it to the finals of the four Masters tournaments, winning the title only in Indian Wells. Bopanna’s sixth Masters title came in 2024 in Miami alongside Ebden.

3. Sania Mirza – 9 Titles

Sania Mirza was an icon of Indian Tennis and a role model for all Indian women. Her journey paved the way for many women, though it wasn’t an easy one. She started off playing both Singles and Doubles but quickly resorted only to the latter due to injuries. The Hyderabadi’s first major trophy came at the Australian Open.

She became a force in the WTA 1000 tournaments, partnering with legends of the game. Her first WTA 1000 title came at Indian Wells in 2011, along with former World No. 1 Elena Vesnina. They failed to defend it next year, losing in the finals. Since it was an Olympic year, Elena chose her compatriot as her partner for the latter half of the season.

Her next few seasons were the golden period of her career as she found partnerships with Cara Black and Martina Hingis, winning seven WTA 1000 titles and finishing runner-up in five tournaments.

Sania reached the pinnacle in the Women’s doubles rankings during the period. She forged a new partnership with Barbora Strycova to win the Cincinnati Masters, which was her ninth WTA 1000 title.

2. Leander Paes – 13 Titles

Leander Paes was the face of Indian Tennis as he shot to fame winning the Bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in Men’s Singles. Coming in as a wild-card entrant, he almost knocked out the home favorite and the top-seeded Andre Agassi. But he is known for his heroics in the doubles & mixed doubles categories.

The much-loved story of Paes and Bhupathi shows what two quality players could achieve. Their partnership was like a magnet as they are two different and opposite poles, but they were at their strongest when together. Seven of his 13 ATP 1000 titles were with Bhupathi.

Paes proved his brilliance, especially in the latter half of his career. He became the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a testament to his enduring legacy.

He formed some impressive partnerships with players like Radek Stepanek, winning the Masters at Miami and Shanghai. Former World No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic, Martin Damm, Lukas Dlouhy, and Jürgen Melzer formed a successful partnership, winning the Masters across the years. Leander ended up winning 13 Titles to add to his 18 Grand Slams.

1. Mahesh Bhupathi – 16 Titles

Mahesh Bhupathi was one of the stories of Indian sporting history as he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam major. He was also the first Indian, along with Leander Paes, to win an ATP 1000 Masters when they won the 1997 Canadian Open (known as the du Maurier in 1997) as an unseeded pair. The pair continued their success next year, winning the Italian Open and the Paris Masters.

Despite winning the 2001 Cincinnati Masters, both separated for the next season. Bhupathi continued to find success with new partners, especially Max Mirnyi, as the duo won four ATP 1000 titles in just 12 months.

Just before the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Bengaluru boy rejoined Leander, and they tasted immediate success at the Canada Open. They split up after the Olympics, and Bhupathi lost his form, winning just one ATP Masters in the next four years.

He tried his hand with multiple partners, and a few turned out to be successful, like Mark Knowles and Rohan Bopanna. He also rejoined with Max Mirnyi, winning in Paris. Aiming for the 2012 London Olympics, he decided to renew his partnership with Paes in 2011, and the duo won two titles.

But the differences were too deep, and they decided to leave midway through the season. Bhupathi partnered with Bopanna for the Olympics and won his final masters title with him at Paris in 2012.

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