Ramanathan Krishnan Biography 
Ramanathan Krishnan is a former tennis player from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu who has delivered some outstanding performances in the Wimbledon in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954 he became Wimbledon junior champion, the first Asian to clinch this title. He also reached semifinals of Wimbledon senior in the years 1960 and 1961 consecutively, eventually losing to the Wimbledon winners in both years in the semifinals. In 1966 he was a team member of Davis Cup which lost to Australia in the finals. A forgotten hero of Indian tennis, he definitely owned a glorious period in the past. He currently lives in Chennai, away from sports field and manages a gas distribution agency. His son Ramesh Krishnan also owns a glorious period in Indian tennis in the 1970s and 1980s.
Ramanathan Krishnan was born in Nagercoil in 1937 of old Travancore Kingdom. The place now belongs to Kanya Kumari district of Tamil Nadu. Ramanathan received training in tennis from his father, T. K. Ramanathan. At a young age Ramanathan Krishnan achieved all national level titles of Indian tennis. When he won Wimbledon junior championship in 1954 at the age of 17, he created a new history. He became the first Asian player to receive this title.
He played his first Wimbledon senior series in 1959 and managed to reach till only the third round. But he made some achievements in Davis Cup the same year, which included defeating Wimbledon runner-up Rod Laver in four sets. Played some glorious game during late 1950s and early 1960s, he achieved the position of 7th seed in both the Wimbledon series 1960 and 1961, and managed to reach till semi-finals. He was a key member of team India which managed to reach the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup in 1966. His playing style was known as 'touch tennis'. Indian government honoured him with Padma Sri and Padma Bhushan titles, and he is also a winner of Arjuna award in 1961.
Published: N/A
Updated: April 09, 2016
