Topic: Leander Paes

Leander Adrian Paes (born June 17, 1973) is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament. He is one of the most successful professional Indian tennis players and also the former captain of the Indian Davis Cup team. He has won various doubles and mixed doubles events at the Tennis Grand Slam events. He is also the recipient of India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1996–1997 and the Padma Shri award in 2001 for his contribution to tennis in India.

Apart from his eleven Grand Slam victories at doubles and mixed doubles events, he is famous for his several memorable Davis Cup performances playing for India and also for winning a bronze medal for India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He also achieved the rare Men's Doubles/Mixed Doubles double during the 1999 Wimbledon.

Leander was born in Kolkata formerly known as Calcutta, India. He was born to Vece Paes and Jennifer Paes and was raised in Kolkata, India. His family hails from the Goan Catholic community, a Christian community in Calcutta. He was educated at La Martiniere Calcutta. His parents were both sportspersons. His father Vece Paes was a midfielder in the bronze medal winning Indian field hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. His mother captained the Indian basketball team in the 1980 Asian basketball championship. Paes enrolled with the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy in Madras in 1985 where he was coached by Dave O'Meara. The academy played a key role in his early development. Leander shot into international fame when he won the 1990 Wimbledon Junior title and rose to No.1 in the junior world-rankings. Paes is the great grandson of the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt. Previously having dated Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhary, he is now married to Rhea Pillai and has a daughter Aiyana Paes.