Indian former ATP star Leander Paes was honored by the sport and his close friend. After entertaining people with his mixed doubles and doubles skills for more than two decades, Paes received an honor where he was introduced by Martina Navratilova. Talking fondly about her “favorite mixed doubles partner” Navratilova not only shared her delight but revealed why Paes deserves to be remembered for his contribution to the sport.

Paes was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on 20th July, with his former doubles partner Martina Navratilova offering him a warm welcome at the event. Navratilova explained how Paes deserves special applause for being the second Asian man to receive this award alongside Vijay Amritraj. She dived into the Indian star’s legacy and career graph highlighting the remarkable career of Leander Paes.

“He was an artist on the court, an amazing athlete, a virtuoso, He wielded the tennis racquet like an orchestra conductor wield the baton. Leander, it was truly my honour to play against you. I enjoyed it a lot more when I played with you. You have done your family proud, you have done our sport proud and most of all you have done India proud,” said Navratilova.

The former WTA star has often showered admiration for Paes. In 2015, Navratilova played an exhibition match with Paes at the DLTA Stadium. Before stepping on the court, this former WTA star said, “Of all the mixed doubles partners I played with, Leander is my favorite.”

Paes who received this honor with Amritraj was visibly delighted. “It is my greatest honour to be on this stage with not only these legends of the game, [but] people who have inspired me every single day of my life, Not because you have won Grand Slams, not because you have shaped the world of our sport. But every single one of these people has shaped the world that we live in. I would like to thank you so much for giving this Indian boy hope.“

The Indian former star who won the 2003 Wimbledon and Australian Open mixed doubles titles with Navratilova, shared a great friendship with the Czech-American legend. Last year Paes revealed how Navratilova helped him have a long and successful professional career.

Leander Paes opened up about Martina Navratilova’s help in his career

In 2023, Paes had an interview with Forbes, mentioning Navratilova’s help in his tennis career. “Martina Navratilova’s knowledge about diet and sleep and recovery helped me tremendously to prolong my career. She was very specific about her practice times—she would not practice for 2/3/4 hours because she already had the muscle memory. She would come in and practice for 40 minutes—and those would be really intense 40 minutes—and move on,” Paes said.

Paes’ revelation presented his beautiful friendship with Navratilova that extended the barriers of on-court partnership. Not only did the duo offer marvelous mixed doubles matches but inspired millions with their achievements.

Navratilova’s speech, on Paes’ induction to the Hall of Fame, reminds us how two former tennis legends paved the path of friendship and wrecked teams that stood opposite to them. The bond made on-court perseveres off-court and now sees one honor the other for their efforts.