Everyone who competed alongside Leander Paes during his maiden US Open in 1993 has long since retired from professional tennis. But 26 years later, the Indian doubles specialist is still as passionate about the game as ever and has no plans to retire.
"Being a student of life and the game, I used to try to learn from the older players. Now, I try to learn from the younger ones," he joked to ATPTour.com.
At age 46, the former world doubles No. 1 has been forced to stop learning from his elders since he's now the oldest player competing on the ATP Tour. Teaming with Guillermo Duran in the men's doubles draw at this year's US Open, the combined age of their first-round opponents, Casper Ruud (20) and Miomir Kecmanovic (19), still don't add up to his.
However, his age hardly reflects his youthful personality and on-court intensity. Paes still yells in delight after great points and isn't afraid to chest bump his partner after a big win. He's also still racking up solid results on the doubles court, reaching four ATP Tour semifinals this year, across all surfaces. Paes picked up his 750th tour-level doubles win in April 2018, to become one of only six players to achieve the feat.
His body of work across three decades speaks for itself. Paes has won eight Grand Slam men's doubles titles, including three US Open crowns, in 2006 (with Damn), 2009 (with Dlouhy) and 2013 (with Stepanek). He's also racked up 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that include US Open triumphs in 2008 (with Black) and 2015 (with Hingis), as well as a career Slam with Martina Hingis. He even won a silver medal in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Paes' success makes it understandable why he prefers not to be defined by his age, but that doesn’t mean he denies it. His longevity in professional tennis stems in part from acknowledging the way an athlete trains in their 40s is vastly different from their 20s.
"I have to work three times as hard now as I did 10 or 15 years ago. That's just age, but I love the work," he explained to ATPTour.com. "When I was younger, I'd waste a lot of energy practicing for five or six hours a day. My training is very specific now, focusing on improving specific areas of my game, focusing on my diet and recovery. The knowledge we have nowadays in tennis on fitness, health and recovery is why the margins of winning and losing are so slim."
Paes' primary focus for the next year is putting himself in position to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He's already competed in seven Olympic games, more than any other tennis player or Indian athlete. Although it's been four years since his last Grand Slam crown, Paes also believes he has one more of those left in him as well.
But regardless of whether that happens, there's no other place that he'd rather be than on a tennis court. The smile on his face when he arrives for a practice session or signs autographs for kids shows that he truly loves his work. It's an enthusiasm that he hopes rubs off on those who come to watch hm play.
"I really love my life and traveling the world. When I was younger, I was playing to put bread and butter on the table. I still am, but now I'm playing because I get a lot of happiness out of playing tennis," said Paes, "Every morning, I put on [tennis clothes] and have fun. Whether it's a Challenger event or a Grand Slam, to me, tennis is tennis. It's a beautiful sport to bring happiness to a lot of people."
