For an Indian tennis legend like Vijay Amritraj, the Eurocentric vision within a sport he describes as the most popular in the world after football is troubling.
“We need tournaments in Asia, Africa, South America; this is not a European sport!” Amritraj said. The former ATP Players’ Council president and winner of 15 professional singles titles spoke to CLAY in an interview also published by RG Media.
“It’s a worldwide sport and sometimes they forget that,” said the Indian, who was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2024 for his contributions to tennis in India and across Asia.
At a time when the ATP is looking to eliminate several 250-level tournaments, Amritraj is calling for more events in the regions that remain most overlooked.
The former player also revealed details about Björn Borg’s visit to India and recalled the era when he competed against the Swede, Guillermo Vilas, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe: “The seventies and eighties were the best era of tennis.”
Interview with Vijay Amritraj
– Having shared locker room with so many legends of the sport in the 70’s must have been pretty amazing. You competed against Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas… Take me through that golden era.
– That was the best part of tennis. I always feel very thankful that I played during the time of those four guys and many others: (Raúl) Ramirez, (Dick) Stockton, Brian Gottfried and Roscoe Tanner. Just numerous other great champions of my era. We had a great competition, great matches, great camaraderie. I got great wins. All at the same time.
– How does it feel to record victories against the best of the era?
– Just fantastic! I beat them all, I enjoyed it so much. The only thing that wasn’t so great is that the prize money wasn’t as good as today (laughs) but, you know, that didn’t change our competitive spirit.
– How’s your relationship with them nowadays?
– Borg and his wife came with me to India in 2023. They changed the return tickets three times, they didn’t want to leave! We had two incredible events, one in Chennai and the other one in Bangalore where we spoke in front of hundreds of people. Our matches in Wimbledon and US Open were shown on the big screen. He was so happy.
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– How about Connors?
– Connors lives about one and a half hour from me, so we play golf together sometimes.
– Who’s better at golf, Connors or you?
– Jimmy! He plays six days a week!
– Six days a week, that’s a lot! How many times do you play?
– I suddenly don’t play for four months. Then I play when I’m back at home.
– How about McEnroe and the others?
– I see McEnroe quite often at events. Sadly, Vilas is not keeping very well.
– Do you know anything about him?
– Yeah, but he’s not very well. His family is taking care of him.
– Do you think Vilas deserves to be recognized as world number one?
– Yes! Absolutely! The guy was the hardest rock you could find, he was the fittest man on the tour… Vilas played seven hours a day hitting tennis balls! He won 50 clay matches in a row (editor’s note: Vilas had a streak of 53 consecutive wins in 1977). The “Wild Bull of the Pampas” — one hundred percent, he should be recognized as World No. 1.
– What’s the best era of tennis?
– Oh, 70s and 80s. For sure, for sure.
– Beautiful era, no doubt. But, better than the Big Three one?
– We have been so privileged to watch Federer, Djokovic and Nadal over 20 years , which I never thought I would see in my lifetime. What they won together is unreal. But I would never trade having played in the 70s and 80s. Even though the money is so much more now.
– Tennis has changed so much, of course, especially for the speed of the ball and the power of the strokes. But, imagining that factor is equal, and we put Connors, Borg and McEnroe on one team, in front of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Which team would win?
– We never ever compare generations. Because any champion of an old generation would’ve been a champion in this era. But, just for the fun of it, it would be interesting to see McEnroe play Nadal with Nadal using McEnroe’s racket and McEnroe using Nadal’s.
– Who would win?
– If they switch rackets, McEnroe would win!
– That’s interesting. How about Federer switching rackets with Connors?
– With Borg. Federer vs Borg would be a better matchup.
– With Borg.
– Yes. That would be more even. But I would probably back Borg.
– Djokovic against Connors?
– Oh, Connors. The legends of the 70s and 80s would win 3–0. Switching rackets!
– What do you think of Djokovic still competing in the final stages of major tournaments at 38? And how influential do you think he is off the court?
– He is a personality. You know, in different ways. He’s a great guy. What he has done for Serbia has been spectacular. I think he’s a jewel of Serbia. What he has achieved in men’s tennis is absolutely unbelievable. His desire to win is amazing. It matches his work ethic. At the end of his career he still has it.
– Let’s talk about tennis in your country. With all the changes the ATP has done in the calendar, India got affected and now there are no events bigger than Challengers there. Do you think India deserves an ATP event?
– Not just India. I think every capital in Asia requires an ATP event. In the 70s and 80s we had that. We had tournaments in India, we had tournaments in Hong Kong, in Singapore, in Manila, in Bangkok, Tehran, Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo. Today we have nothing! When I was president of the ATP, we put the tournament in Dubai and Doha. I was president of the ATP council for four terms. Today we have nothing in Asia. There’s only one license that is owned by an Asian licensee, that’s Tokyo. Seoul is not owned by the licensee, it’s owned by IMG. Hong Kong, which they moved to, is now owned by IMG. So we need tournaments in Asia! We need 250s, we don’t need 500s at the moment. We need 250s to be able to keep the game a worldwide sport! It’s a worldwide sport and sometimes they forget that. After football, we are the most popular sport in the world as far as playing in different parts of the world. We need tournaments in Africa. We need more tournaments in South America. This is not a European sport!
– Are the powers of tennis making a big mistake by prioritizing most of the times Europe and the United States over other regions?
– One hundred percent, one hundred percent. What are they trying to do? What’s their plan of action? For example, they upgraded Dallas and Munich, and I think there’s nothing wrong with that. Somebody wants to put up more money and have a bigger tournament, absolutely. But not at the cost of something else.
– What would you tell the ATP regarding this matter?
– Look at the rest of the world first. And then upgrade tournaments. ATP wants to reduce the amount of 250 events. I think that’s wrong. All the countries in South America need to have a tournament. Bogota used to have a tournament before. Lima should have a tournament. Caracas should have a tournament. I played in Caracas. So where are all those events? There’s room for everyone!
– Is it?
– Yeah! It’s a community. It’s a worldwide community. Do you know the number of people who come from India to watch Wimbledon? Do you know the number of people from Asia who attend Roland Garros? Do you know the number of people in South America who go to New York to watch the US Open?
– A very fun fact about you, is that you participated in some iconic movies…
– I was in Octopussy, the Bond movie. I was in Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home. Those were the most iconic ones.
– What’s your favorite tennis movie?
– There hasn’t been a really good one.
– Did you watch Challengers?
– I went to the premiere of the movie Challengers. The movie was ok, average. Zendaya was very good, though. Her performance was exceptional.
If you enjoyed this interview with Vijay Amritraj, you can find here many more conversations with the great stars of the past and present of the tour on our website.
