CARMEL, Ind. — Carmel native Rajeev Ram made history Monday morning when the latest Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings were released.
At 38 years old, Ram became the oldest first-time World No. 1 in doubles. According to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the record was previously held by Bob Hewitt, who was 36 in 1976.
Ram swapped places in the rankings with his doubles partner, Joe Salisbury, who dropped the 250 points he had last season after winning the San Diego Open with Neal Skupski.
"It's pretty amazing. I've obviously had quite a long career, which I’m grateful for. But it’s been over the past three or four years with Joe [Salisbury] that it’s really felt like we’ve been at the top of the game and been contending for all the major titles," Ram told ATPTour.com. "It’s a lot of hard work that a lot of people put in, not just me, to get me to this point."
In 1999, Ram won the IHSAA Boys Tennis Singles State Championship as a sophomore, defeating Penn High School senior Troy Havens 7-6, 7-6.
Ram also played one semester of college tennis in 2003 at the University of Illinois, where the team went undefeated (32-0) and won the NCAA team title. Ram also partnered with Brian Wilson to win the NCAA doubles title that season.
In his professional career, Ram won two singles titles, both on grass courts at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2009 and 2015.
Ram has won three Grand Slam doubles titles with Salisbury (2020 Australian Open, 2021 US Open and 2022 US Open), as well as two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles with Barbora Krejčíková (2019 Australian Open and 2021 Australian Open).
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