India at US Open: A look at history, records and titles

Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Sania Mirza have won a combined 10 US Open titles.

The US Open is one of the oldest events in tennis history, with its origins dating back to 1881. At that time, the tournament was called the U.S. National Championship, and only members of the United States Lawn Tennis Association were allowed to participate. Until 1967, the event only allowed amateur players, and it was mostly won by American players.

The competition was opened to international professional players in 1968 with the beginning of the Open Era. Indian players have achieved notable success in this prestigious tournament in the doubles and mixed doubles categories.

Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Sania Mirza have won US Open doubles and mixed doubles titles with different partners multiple times. In singles, notable performances have been made by players such as Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, and Sania Mirza.

As we are into the US Open 2024, let us take a peek into the history books and look at some interesting Indian records and performances in the US Open:

Firsts for India in US Open History (In the Open Era)

When did India’s first appearance come at the US Open?

Ramanathan Krishnan and Premjit Lall participated in the men’s singles event in the 1968 edition of the Hardcourt slam. Premjit Lall exited in the first round after losing 3-6, 6-1, 5-7, 4-6 to the seventh seed American Clark Graebner, whereas Ramanathan Krishnan advanced to the second round where he lost to the 4th seed Australian John Newcombe in straight sets 4-6, 4-6, 2-6.

The first Indian appearance in any women’s event at the US Open came after a long wait in 2004. US-based Indian player Shikha Uberoi featured in the women’s singles event in the 2004 US Open after receiving a wildcard entry into the qualifiers.

Shikha defeated Ivana Abramovic, Anne Kremer, and Vilmarie Castellvi to qualify for the main draw. Uberoi began her campaign with a first-round win over Japan’s Saori Obata but was ousted by Venus Williams in the second round.

Who won India’s first-ever match at the US Open and when?

Ramanathan Krishnan won his first-round match against Australian Warren Jacques by 14-12, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 in the 1968 edition of the tournament.

Shikha Uberoi became the first Indian woman to win a match at the US Open after her first-round victory over Japan’s Saori Obata by 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Who is the first Indian to reach the finals at the US Open?

The Indian duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi became the first Indian players to reach the finals of the men’s doubles event in 1999.

The pair lost to Alex O’Brien and Sébastien Lareau by 6-7, 4-6. Mahesh Bhupathi also reached the finals of the mixed doubles category in the same edition with Japanese partner Ai Sugiyama.

Also read: US Open title winners

Who is the first Indian to win the US Open title?

The long wait for a US Open title victory by an Indian player ended in 1999 when Mahesh Bhupathi and Ai Sugiyama won the US Open mixed doubles title. The Indo-Japanese pair defeated the American duo of Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson 6-4, 6-4 in the final, making Mahesh Bhupathi the first Indian player to win the US Open title.

Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to win the US Open title when she won the mixed doubles event in 2014. Sania paired with Brazilian Bruno Soares, and the duo defeated Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 in the finals to win the title.

Who is the Indian player with the most titles won at the US Open?

Leander Paes holds the record for the most US Open titles won by an Indian tennis player. The legendary Paes has won a record five US Open titles, which include three men’s doubles titles in 2006, 2009, and 2013, and two mixed doubles title victories in 2008 and 2015.

Indian Winners at the US Open

1999 Mixed Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi and Ai Sugiyama

After becoming the first Indian player to win a Grand Slam by winning the French Open in 1997, Mahesh Bhupathi also became the first Indian to win in 1999. The pair of Bhupathi-Sugiyama was seeded No. 2 and defeated the American duo of Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

2002 Men’s Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi

Mahesh Bhupathi partnered with Belarusian Max Mirnyi, and the duo had an impressive title-winning campaign, defeating top pairs like Kevin Ullyett and Wayne Black of Zimbabwe in the quarters and American pair Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the semis. In the final, Bhupathi and Mirnyi defeated Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek, seeded 11th, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

2005 Mixed Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniela Hantuchova

Mahesh Bhupathi won his second mixed doubles title at the US Open with Slovak Daniela Hantuchova in 2005. The duo defeated the renowned pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Katarina Srebotnik 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

2006 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and Martin Damm

Leander Paes’s wait for a US Open title ended with the men’s doubles victory in 2006 with Czech Republic’s Martin Damm. Paes-Damm defeated second seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the final to claim the title.

2008 Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes and Cara Black

Paes won his first mixed doubles US Open title in 2008 with his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black. They defeated Liezel Huber of the US and Jamie Murray of Great Britain 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in the final.

2009 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy

Leander Paes won his 10th major title and 3rd US Open title in 2009 with Czech Lukas Dlouhy. Paes-Dlouhy defeated Bhupathi and Mark Knowles by scripting a comeback and winning the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

2013 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek

A 40-year-old Leander Paes won the 2013 US Open men’s doubles title with Czech Radek Stepanek. The duo had an impressive run to the finals, defeating several top pairs and eventually winning the title by beating second seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 6-1, 6-3.

2014 Mixed Doubles: Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares

Sania Mirza won her first US Open and third Grand Slam title after winning the 2014 mixed doubles event. The top-seeded duo of Sania and Brazilian Bruno Soares defeated Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 in the finals.

2015 Women’s Doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis

The top-seed duo of Sania Mirza and Swiss star Martina Hingis won the 2015 women’s doubles championship without dropping a set. The pair defeated Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

2015 Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes and Martina Hingis

In 2015, Paes won his 9th mixed doubles title, the most by any male player in the Open Era. Martina Hingis also made history as she won the mixed and women’s doubles titles in the same edition of the US Open. Hingis and Paes defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey 6-4, 3-6, [10-7] in the final to lift the title.

Indian Runners-up at the US Open

• 1999 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi
• 2001 Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond
• 2004 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and David Rikl
• 2007 Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes and Meghann Shaughnessy
• 2008 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and Lukáš Dlouhý
• 2009 Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes and Cara Black
• 2009 Men’s Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles
• 2010 Men’s Doubles: Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
• 2012 Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes and Radek Štěpánek
• 2023 Men’s Doubles: Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden

Other Indian notable performances at the US Open

Legendary Vijay Amritraj was the first Indian player to reach the singles quarterfinals at the US Open. He made it to the quarters twice, in 1973 and 1974. Amritraj also defeated Bjorn Borg in the second round in his quarterfinal run in 1974.

Ramesh Krishnan, son of another tennis legend, Ramanathan Krishnan also made it to the quarterfinal stage at the US Open in 1981 and 1987. Four years later, Leander Paes became the first Indian to Win the Junior US Open Title. Leander Paes won the Junior US Open championship in 1991 by defeating Karim Alami of Morocco 6-4, 6-4.

Sania Mirza reached the round of 16 in the women’s singles event in the 2005 US Open and became the first Indian female player to reach the fourth round in any grand slam. She defeated Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the third round before losing to the top seed Maria Sharapova in the R16 match.

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