New Delhi: Indian tennis legend Leander Paes has expressed concern over the stagnation of tennis in India, calling for major reforms in governance and player development. Speaking at the NDTV Ignite: The Future India Summit, Paes said the sport has immense untapped talent but lacks the administrative structure needed to consistently produce world-class athletes.
Paes, India’s most successful tennis player with 18 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic medal, stressed that governing bodies such as the All India Tennis Association (AITA) should take inspiration from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which he believes has transformed cricket into a nationwide movement.
According to Paes, governance remains one of the biggest challenges facing Indian tennis.
“It was a massive problem. Until about four weeks ago, the AITA was sitting in the Supreme Court because two athletes challenged the association on governance issues. In a country that has sporting governance like the BCCI, other sports need to learn from that model. They need to understand how one sport can become an entire movement that inspires a nation,” Paes said.
The former World No. 1 doubles player believes India has no shortage of talent. However, identifying, nurturing and supporting young athletes through a structured pathway remains critical.
“The talent is out there. What we need is good governance to identify that talent, bring players into state academies, and then help national academies develop them into world champions,” he added.
Paes, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), revealed that he has been working on a roadmap aimed at bringing greater professionalism to Indian tennis administration.
He welcomed recent developments involving the AITA and credited both the Sports Ministry and improved governance efforts for helping resolve administrative issues that had reached the country’s highest court.
“Thanks to our Sports Ministry and good governance, the AITA is now out of the Supreme Court. Today, as president of the Bengal Tennis Association, I am working on a roadmap to bring professionalism into tennis,” he said.
Paes outlined a vision where professionals handle specialised responsibilities across sports administration.
“We need lawyers to handle legal matters, finance experts to build financial models, tax professionals to oversee compliance, and regular audits of every state association and national governing body,” he explained.
The tennis icon also emphasised the importance of investing in coaching infrastructure and sports science while expanding talent identification programmes beyond major cities.
He advocated leveraging initiatives such as the Khelo India programme to scout promising athletes from rural and underserved regions.
“We need international-quality coaching systems and sports science support. Using programmes like Khelo India, we should identify talent across every state and empower local associations through funding so young players get the opportunity to develop and compete,” Paes said.
Looking ahead, he believes the key to India’s sporting future lies in inspiring younger generations to embrace sports as a serious pursuit.
“We need to get Gen-Z excited about playing sport,” Paes concluded.
Paes’ comments come at a time when Indian tennis is searching for its next generation of global stars, with the country yet to produce a player capable of consistently competing at the highest levels of the ATP and WTA Tours in recent years.