CHENNAI: One of Tamil Nadu’s all-time great sport stars, Vijay Amritraj was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, at a glittering ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan today in the presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister and other dignitaries.
Vijay Amritraj rose to become one of India’s greatest tennis players, achieving a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No 18 in 1980. A three-time National Singles Champion, he represented India with distinction over two decades and led the nation to the Davis Cup Finals in 1974 and 1987, helping place Indian tennis firmly on the world stage and inspiring generations of players to follow. His enduring impact on sport was further recognised when he was selected as an Olympic torchbearer at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
He served as President of the ATP Council and was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace, reflecting the respect he earned both on and off the court.
His contributions have been recognised through numerous honours, including the Arjuna Award in 1974 and the Padma Shri in 1983. In 2024, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in recognition of his immense contribution to the game. Under his leadership, the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association successfully brought the WTA 250 Chennai Open, India’s highest-ranked international women’s tennis event, back to the city and launched The Next Level, a high-performance player development programme aimed at identifying and nurturing India’s most promising young talent.