Indians who have won ATP/WTA singles titles

On July 22, 2018, India's no. 2 ranked player on the ATP circuit, Ramkumar Ramanathan took on USA's Steve Johnson in the final of the Hall of Fame Newport ATP 250 event in a bid to become the first Indian man in 20 years to win an ATP title.

Ramanathan fought hard but fell short, losing in 3 hard fought sets - 5-7, 6-3, 2-6. He had an incredible week, defeating higher-ranked opponents and climbing 46 ranking places himself, thus reaching his career-best ranking of 115.

However, the title drought for the Indians in the singles circuit remains. While they continue to enjoy a lot of success in doubles, positive results in the singles circuit continue to elude them. There have been positive signs over the past couple of years with the likes of Yuki Bhambri and Prajnesh Gunneswaran performing well, along with Ramkumar.

They will look to break that barrier and come home with a title soon enough.

In this article, we take a look at those Indians who have won ATP/WTA titles in their career.

#4 Leander Paes

If Ramkumar had defeated Johnson, he would have become the second Indian to have won a title in Newport, the first being Leander Paes.

Paes, who is undoubtedly India's best and one of the world's best doubles player, started off his career playing a lot of singles. He achieved quite a lot of success, including winning the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

A couple of years later, he lifted his first ATP title at Newport, defeating South Africa's Neville Godwin, 6–3, 6–2 in the final. A few months later, he went on to defeat Pete Sampras as well in New Haven, however, he failed to win the title there. He also went on to defeat a young Roger Federer in the late 1990s.

However, after 1998, he began to focus solely on doubles, partnering Mahesh Bhupathi - a combination which went on to achieve a lot of success.

#3 Ramesh Krishnan

Ramesh Krishnan was arguably one of the best singles players to have come out of India. He reached a career-high ranking of 23 on January 28, 1985.

He achieved a lot of success at the Grand Slam level as well, reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open twice and Wimbledon once.

Apart from this, he won numerous ATP titles in the 1980s. He had his most successful year on the tour in 1986, winning three ATP titles.

He also went on to defeat former World no. 1 Mats Wilander at the Australian Open in 1989.

#2 Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj was undoubtedly the best singles tennis player to have come out of India. His best results at the Grand Slam level include reaching the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon and US Open twice.

He achieved a lot of success against numerous former world no. 1s, including Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and Bjorn Borg. He also defeated Rod Laver once at Wimbledon.

He won a total of 18 career titles in singles and 14 in doubles. He was also a part of the Indian Davis Cup team which reached the final in 1974 and 1987. Apart from his tennis career, he acted in a few Hollywood movies as well, including the famous James Bond movie - Octopussy.

#1 Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza is the greatest women's tennis player to have come out of India, both in the singles and doubles circuit.

She focussed largely on singles from 2003-2013 after which she shifted her focus to doubles due to constant injuries which led to inconsistent performances in the singles circuit.

However, she did achieve a lot of success in singles in the ten years she played. Her best result at the Grand Slam level includes reaching the fourth round of the US Open in 2004. However, her moment in the sun came at the Hyderabad Open in February 2005, defeating Alona Bondarenko in the final.

On the doubles circuit, she went on to win six Grand Slams, 3 in women's doubles and 3 in mixed doubles.