When Vijay Amritraj was named a Padma Bhushan awardee in 2026, it was not simply a delayed reward for a great tennis player.
It was recognition of one of the most extraordinary sporting lives India has produced a life that went far beyond trophies and rankings and reshaped how Indian sport was seen on the global stage.
Amritraj becomes one of the rare Indian athletes to receive all three major national sporting and civilian honours: the Arjuna Award in 1974, the Padma Shri in 1983 and now the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award. But what truly makes this honour special is the breadth of what it recognises not just success, but influence.
Long before India produced Grand Slam champions, Amritraj carried the country’s sporting identity into the toughest arenas in world tennis. In an era when Indian players had limited access to professional circuits, he rose to a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 18 still one of the highest achieved by any Indian male player in the Open Era. At his peak, he was competing week after week against legends like Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Rod Laver, and beating them too.
His Grand Slam performances remain part of Indian tennis folklore. He reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon twice (1973, 1981) and at the US Open twice (1973, 1974). In 1973 at the US Open, Amritraj defeated Rod Laver, one of the greatest players in history, in a match that announced India’s arrival on the world tennis map. Eight years later, at Wimbledon, he pushed Jimmy Connors to five sets in the quarter-finals after leading two sets to love a match still remembered as one of the finest performances by an Indian in the modern era.
But Amritraj’s legacy cannot be told through singles records alone. It is inseparable from India’s golden Davis Cup years. Along with his brother Anand, he led India to the final twice in 1974 and again in 1987 feats that remain unmatched to this day.
The 1974 Davis Cup run was dramatic and politically historic. After India defeated Australia and the Soviet Union, they were scheduled to play South Africa in the final. India withdrew in protest against apartheid, forfeiting what many believed would have been a winnable title. It was one of the earliest and most powerful sporting stands taken against racial segregation, and Amritraj has always defended that decision as one that went beyond sport.
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Thirteen years later, at the age of 33, he was still central to India’s remarkable 1987 Davis Cup campaign. His comeback win against Argentina’s Martin Jaite saving match points and dragging India back into the tie was one of the most courageous performances ever by an Indian tennis player. India eventually reached the final again, losing to a strong Swedish team led by Mats Wilander, but Amritraj’s place in Indian sporting history was already secure.
What separates Vijay Amritraj from most athletes, however, is what came after tennis. At a time when Indian sports stars rarely crossed into global popular culture, he became a familiar face to international audiences. He appeared as a lead character in the James Bond film Octopussy and later in Star Trek IV, breaking barriers for Indian representation in Western cinema. At the same time, he became one of the most recognisable voices in tennis broadcasting, working with major networks and covering the biggest tournaments for decades.
In 2001, he was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace the only tennis player to ever receive that role using his platform to campaign for causes ranging from HIV awareness to youth development. His philanthropic work through the Vijay Amritraj Foundation has focused on helping children and families affected by disease and tragedy, adding a humanitarian layer to his sporting legacy.
In recent years, Amritraj has also been deeply involved in shaping Indian tennis from the inside. As President of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, he has overseen a revival of elite events, junior development programmes and infrastructure in one of India’s strongest tennis states. His advocacy has been especially important at a time when the global tennis calendar is increasingly tilted towards Europe and North America, often at the expense of emerging markets like India.
That is what makes the Padma Bhushan fitting. This is not simply about a former top-20 player. It is about someone who opened doors for Indian athletes when very few existed, who carried Indian sport into global living rooms, and who continues to fight for the sport’s future at home.
Amritraj belongs to a small group of Indians alongside Ramanathan Krishnan, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza who have shaped entire eras of tennis. But his impact is arguably the widest. He was India’s first true global sports star, someone who proved that an Indian athlete could belong on the world’s biggest stages.
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The Padma Bhushan in 2026 is, in many ways, not a late honour. It is the final seal on a life that has been spent carrying Indian sport forward with elegance, courage and enduring relevance.
