TENNIS | Amritraj, Paes and Evans — ITF Hall of Fame inductees — feted at Wimbledon

2024 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees honored at Wimbledon event, including Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj.

Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes and Richard Evans, the 2024 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees, were honoured at an event held on the sidelines of The Championships in Wimbledon, on Thursday.

Amritraj, a former top-20 player and celebrated broadcaster, and Evans, a renowned author and journalist, have been inducted in the contributor category, while Paes, an 18-time Major champion and Olympic bronze medallist, is in the player category.

Interestingly, Paes was in the first batch of trainees at the erstwhile Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy (BAT) in Chennai and Evans is the co-author of Amritraj’s autobiography.

“What a privilege to watch these two who were naturally skillful at a difficult sport,” Evans said about Amritraj and Paes. “There was elegance, power and skill in them for such a long period of time.

“And we media guys couldn’t have found more approachable players. I am honoured to be sandwiched between these two Indians.”

Paes credited the Amritraj family for shaping his tennis career and also recollected the first time he met Evans.

“I grew up watching these guys,” Paes said, pointing to Amritraj. “I wouldn’t be what I am today without them. At that time, I was on a football scholarship at a European club. Tennis was never on my mind.