The 21st century
United States · born Denver, Colorado, 1984 · right-handed, one-handed backhand · twice Newport singles champion and world No. 1 in doubles
All playersBack to the rankings
2
ATP singles titles, both at Newport, 2009 and 2015
32
ATP doubles titles
No. 1
Doubles ranking, reached on 3 October 2022
6
Major titles: four in men's doubles, two in mixed
2
Olympic silver medals, 2016 mixed doubles and 2024 men's doubles
Rajeev Ram was born in Denver in 1984 to parents who had emigrated from India, and grew up in Carmel, Indiana. He played one semester for the University of Illinois, in 2003, when he won the national doubles title and helped the team to an unbeaten season and the NCAA team championship, then turned professional in 2004.
In singles he won two titles, both on the Newport grass, in 2009 and 2015, and reached a career-high No. 56 in April 2016 before giving up singles in 2017. Doubles made his name. With Joe Salisbury he won the 2020 Australian Open and three straight US Open titles from 2021 to 2023, and the 2022 ATP Finals; with Barbora Krejčíková he won the Australian Open mixed doubles in 2019 and 2021. He became the world No. 1 in doubles in October 2022 and won 32 tour titles.
He won Olympic silver in the mixed doubles with Venus Williams at Rio in 2016 and in the men's doubles with Austin Krajicek at Paris in 2024. He played his last match at the 2026 US Open, losing a semi-final with Salisbury to Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz 6-3, 6-4, and retired after it.
| Newport 2009 | A lucky loser from qualifying, ranked 181st, beat the third seed Sam Querrey 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 for his first tour title; he won the doubles with Jordan Kerr the same week |
|---|---|
| Newport 2015 | Ranked 161st at 31, beat the second seed Ivo Karlović 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, winning the last tie-break 7-2 |
| Halle doubles | Won the title in 2015 and 2016 with Raven Klaasen |
| Grass doubles finals lost | 's-Hertogenbosch 2017 with Klaasen; Queen's 2019 with Joe Salisbury, to Feliciano López and Andy Murray in Murray's comeback event; Eastbourne 2021 with Salisbury; Stuttgart 2025 with Alex Michelsen |
| Wimbledon | Men's doubles semi-finalist in 2016, 2021 and 2022; second round in singles in 2013 |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Men's doubles Hall of Fame Open | with Jordan Kerr |
| 2009 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
| 2015 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
| 2017 | Men's doubles Hall of Fame Open | with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |
| Halle | ||
| 2015 | Men's doubles | with Raven Klaasen |
| 2016 | Men's doubles | with Raven Klaasen |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"These days don't come around very often unless you're Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal"
The person behind the player.
Newport, July 2009
Ram lost in qualifying and got into the draw as a lucky loser when the top seed, Mardy Fish, was called into the US Davis Cup team to replace the injured Andy Roddick. He went on to beat Sam Querrey in the first all-American final at Newport in seven years. "Winning tournaments is not normal on the tour for 99 per cent of us," he said.
Source: Sky SportsNewport, July 2015
Ranked 161st, Ram beat the 6ft 11in Ivo Karlović for his second Newport title. He broke with a lunging backhand return for 2-1 in the final tie-break, then served two straight aces; Karlović ended it with a return into the net.
Source: Associated Press, via Sports IllustratedChampaign, 2003
Ram delayed going to the University of Illinois so he could keep playing professional events as an amateur. In his single semester he won the national doubles title with Brian Wilson and the team went 32-0 to win the NCAA championship.
Source: WikipediaRio 2016 and Paris 2024
He won mixed doubles silver with Venus Williams in Rio and men's doubles silver with Austin Krajicek in Paris. At 40 in Paris he was the oldest tennis player to win an Olympic medal since George Hillyard in 1908.
Source: Olympedia; WikipediaUS Open, September 2026
Ram and Salisbury, champions there from 2021 to 2023, lost in the semi-finals, and Ram retired after the match. "I would say it brings up some sadness, but also some relief in some way," he said. His former partner Eric Butorac, the tournament director, led an on-court ceremony.
Source: ATP TourFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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