Vijay Amritraj, 2024 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, is making tennis communal

Singular a sport as tennis can be, Vijay Amritraj’s superpower has long been his ability to make tennis communal. That attribute is one of many that have earned Amritraj a spot in the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF). On July 20, in Newport, R.I., Amritraj will join Leander Paes as the first Asian men to be inducted into the ITHF.

Tennis for Amritraj has always been a team sport, as both of his brothers, the older Anand and the younger Ashok, also became world-class players. All three Amritraj boys had been greatly supported by their parents, Bob and Maggie. Vijay Amritraj most of all needed that help, as throughout his childhood he grappled with health problems that made it difficult for him to breathe and often kept Amritraj bedridden.

“Our parents lived for the three of us,” wrote Amritraj in his book, Vijay!, co-written with another 2024 ITHF inductee, Richard Evans. “They never took a vacation. All their spare time and all their spare money went on our welfare and paying for the tennis lessons that, in our case, proved to be the best investment any family could have made.”

In 1973, at the age of 19, Amritraj hit the tennis scene in a major way. At Wimbledon, he reached the quarterfinals of the singles. Later that summer, Amritraj fought off match points versus both Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors to win a significant clay-court tournament in New Hampshire. A few weeks later, on grass at the US Open, Amritraj again beat Laver, this time in a dramatic five-setter aired on national television.

Amritraj won 28 ATP titles–15 in singles, 13 in doubles, including eight alongside brother Anand. In 1980, he’d attain a career-high singles ranking of 18 in the world. Amritraj also led India to two Davis Cup finals (1974, 1987) and earned victories over many more greats, including Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and Stan Smith.

But beyond the lines was where Amritraj took his game to another level. The Vijay Amritraj Foundation, launched nearly 20 years ago, has taken great steps to aid those who suffer disease and tragedy. Prior to that, Amritraj in 2001 was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, a distinguished group that has included such prominent people as Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel and entertainer Henry Belafonte.

According to the UN website, “Mr. Amritraj has been a committed advocate to people in need, devoting his time to raising awareness on the issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS. He has participated in and organized charitable events worldwide, raising funds to fight the spread of AIDS and is associated with numerous Indian American charitable and community organizations.”

For these and other contributions, the ITHF honored Amritraj in 2021 by awarding him its Golden Achievement Award.

Over the course of Amritraj’s career, there came two rare moments when tennis and politics intersected. In the 1974 Davis Cup campaign, the Amritraj brothers defeated defending champion Australian and then beat Russia to earn a spot in the final. Complications came when it turned out the opponent would be South Africa–a country India refused to compete against in any sports event due to that nation’s policy of apartheid. As a result, India defaulted the final.

“It was a heartbreaker,” wrote Amritraj, “but there were millions in South Africa who had a lot more to worry about.”

Matters took a different twist in 1987. That year, India was to play Israel in Davis Cup. Once again, the country’s leaders planned to default versus a nation whose policies it opposed. But this time, Amritraj made the case to compete.

“Sport is universal as music is,” Amritraj said in a 2022 ITHF interview. “So it is always to our benefit to look at sport as a unifier.”

After listening to Amritraj, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi agreed. Playing terrific tennis, the Amritraj brothers clinched the tie with a four-set win in the doubles. Following a dramatic victory over defending champion Australia in the semis, India was once again in the finals, in this instance, losing to Sweden.

“Sport is universal as music is, so it is always to our benefit to look at sport as a unifier.” - Vijay Amritraj

Amritraj also became a multi-media star. No one has ever on the same day filmed a James Bond movie and competed at Wimbledon. Such was the case for Amritraj when he appeared alongside Roger Moore in the 1983 film, Octopussy. Amritraj was also featured in the 1986 film, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Several years later, starting in 1992, Amritraj’s career as a tennis commentator began when he started to work for an Asian network, Prime Sports, at all four Grand Slam events.

The name “Vijay” has Hindi and Sanskrit origins. When translated into English, it means “victory”–fitting words to describe the Vijay Amritraj journey.