Leander Paes, 46, says 2020 will be his last year as professional

The last few years have been tough on Paes. He won his last Grand Slam in 2016 (mixed doubles with Martina Hingis in French Open) and last tour title at Auckland with South African Raven Klaasen a year earlier.

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Leander Paes won his last Grand Slam in 2016 (mixed doubles with Martina Hingis in French Open) and last tour title at Auckland with South African Raven Klaasen a year earlier.

“One last roar,” pens Leander Paes, along with the customary hashtag that dominates social media. It’s the language of new-age netspeak that the 46-year-old – a man born in an era where colour televisions were a novelty and the sport of tennis wasn’t even a part of the Olympic programme – has kept up with. It’s been the same with how he has handled his tennis, staying abreast with new developments in racquet technology and sport science to aid his longevity. But the wear and tear of the 28 years of playing as a professional was inevitable. What wasn’t surprising was that Paes, the oldest player currently on tour, chose twitter to announce his intention of hanging his racquet at the end of the 2020 season.

“I want to announce 2020 as my farewell year as a pro tennis player,” he writes. “I am looking forward to the 2020 tennis calendar where I will be playing a few select tournaments, traveling with my team and celebrating with all my friends and fans around the world. It is all of you who have inspired me to become me and I want to take this year to say ‘thank you’ to you.”

The last few years have been tough on Paes. He won his last Grand Slam in 2016 (mixed doubles with Martina Hingis in French Open) and last tour title at Auckland with South African Raven Klaasen a year earlier. He reached the final of two Challenger events this year, but for the first time in 19 years, the former world no 1 dropped out of the top 100 – he currently sits on 105. Regardless of the slump, his career has been the most decorated among all Indians.

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Just under a month ago, the veteran extended a Davis Cup world record, winning his 44th doubles match in the tournament. And it was in that elite competition where Paes had first announced himself, back in April 1990, a few months short of his 17th birthday. When he burst onto the scene, his strokes didn’t quite have the technical grace associated with Indians like the Krishnans and Vijay Amritraj. But he had the energy to propel his chip-and-charge game to a level that would see him beat stalwarts like Henri Leconte and Goran Ivanisevic. And those lightning-quick reflex volleys at the net is what fans came to see.

A year after turning professional, he played his first Olympics in Barcelona 1992. Four years later, at Atlanta 1996 he became only the second Indian, after KD Jadhav in 1952, to win an individual Olympic medal for independent India. Coincidentally, India has won at least one individual medal at all the Games that have followed. And Paes, who has competed at seven editions of the Olympics – the most for any tennis player and for an Indian – has been present for all.

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What truly made him one of the sport’s greats was when he shifted to playing doubles full time in the early 2000s. Till date he has won a total of 18 Grand Slam titles – eight in men’s doubles and 10 in mixed doubles – which is the most by any Indian. Then there were also the two junior singles titles he won at Wimbledon 1990 and the US Open in 1991.

It’s been three years since he won his last major, and the period in between has been marred by a dip in form and personal problems. But when he finally draws the curtains on a career that has spanned almost 30 years, Paes, ‘Lionheart’ as he calls himself, boasts a CV like no other Indian player has ever had.

An Olympic medallist, just like his father Vece Paes (field hockey bronze at the 1972 Munich Games), the only Indian to win all four Grand Slam in men’s doubles, a holder of 65 titles including 18 majors and a singles win in 1998, and record holder for most doubles wins at Davis Cup. Actor, Arjuna Award winner, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, the most successful tennis player India has produced. And now he’s ready for one last roar.