Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram is an American professional tennis player.
He won the 2019 Australian Open mixed-doubles with Barbora Krejčíková and the 2020 Australian Open men's doubles with Joe Salisbury. Ram won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the mixed doubles draw and reached the final of the US Open mixed doubles in the same year. He has claimed 19 ATP doubles titles in his career, with several different partners. He reached as high as world No. 5 in doubles in February 2020 after winning his second Grand Slam title.
Ram has also won two ATP singles titles at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in 2009 and again in 2015. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 56, achieved in April 2016.
Personal
Ram was born to Raghav and Sushma Ram. His parents hail from Bangalore, India. Table tennis, cricket, and music are some of his interests.Career
Early career
In his junior career, Ram won a total of nine national junior titles, including singles and doubles. Amongst his titles were the National Claycourt 14-and-under singles title, the boys' 16-and-under national championship, the 18-and-under Easter Bowl title, Kalamazoo doubles and the Target Cup tournaments. In addition to his nine junior titles, Ram played high school tennis at Carmel, earned All-State honors, became the , and earned a scholarship in both 1998 and 1999.Rajeev earned a wild card entry into the Juniors' 2001 US Open. Ram participated in all of the Grand Slam junior tournaments. He was the runner-up in juniors doubles at the 2002 Wimbledon, partnered with Brian Baker.
Ram then delayed enrollment at the University of Illinois until January 2003 so that he could continue to play tennis as an amateur on the pro circuit. During his one semester at Illinois, he won the national doubles title with Brian Wilson and helped the Fighting Illini go undefeated and win the 2003 NCAA team championship.
Professional years
At the 2005 US Open, he lost in five sets to Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round. At the 2006 US Open, he lost in the second qualifying round to former college teammate Amer Delić. Ram made the 2007 Wimbledon doubles quarterfinals as a qualifier with Harel Levy, before losing to eventual champions Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra. Along the way, Ram and Levy upset the 15th-seeded team of Martín García and Sebastián Prieto. In 2007, he won five doubles Challenger titles partnering Bobby Reynolds, and reached three other finals on his way to a career-high doubles ranking of No. 62.On July 5, 2008, Ram won the Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Illinois for his first career Challenger-level singles title.
He won his first ATP doubles title in Chennai, India 2009 with compatriot Eric Butorac.
On July 10, 2009, Ram accomplished the unusual feat of winning four professional-level tennis matches in one day. At the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Rhode Island, the tournament had been rained out early in the week, pushing back many scheduled matches. On July 10, Ram advanced to the singles semifinals with wins over Samuel Groth and Jesse Levine and then partnered with Jordan Kerr to advance to the doubles semifinals with wins over Arnaud Clément/Olivier Rochus and Nicolas Mahut/Fabrice Santoro. Mahut, Santoro, and Rochus each played three matches that day, though none of them won all their matches. Ram then went on to beat Rochus and world No. 39, Sam Querrey, on consecutive days to capture his first ATP title. He also captured the doubles title.
In his return to Newport in July 2010, Ram lost to No. 417-ranked qualifier Raven Klaasen after defeating Iván Navarro in the first round. Having raced to a 5–0 lead in the third set, Ram wasted several match points while serving at 5–1 before eventually losing, 7–5, 1–6, 6–7.
In Atlanta in July 2010, he won his first doubles title with American Scott Lipsky, defeating Rohan Bopanna and Kristof Vliegen for the outdoor hard-court Atlanta Tennis Championships. In the semifinals, Lipsky and Ram had defeated John Isner and James Blake. In November, they won a tournament in Eckental, Germany.
Ram started 2011 strong, partnering with Lipsky in February to take the indoor hard court San Jose Open and the outdoor hard court Delray Beach titles. In March, he and Lipsky won the Challenger of Dallas. In June, he and Lipsky advanced as far as the quarterfinals at the 2011 French Open, before being defeated.
2013
In 2013, he teamed with Rohan Bopanna. In Chennai, they reached the quarterfinals, only to fall to Benoît Paire and Stanislas Wawrinka.At the Australian Open, they reached the second round, but lost to Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
In Dubai, they reached the semifinals, where they lost to Mahesh Bhupathi and Michaël Llodra.
2015
At the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships he reached his second career final and won his second career ATP singles title by defeating Ivo Karlovic.2016
In singles, Ram defeated 11th-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the first round of the Australian Open before falling to Frenchman Stéphane Robert in a grueling five-set match. At the Delray Beach Open Ram reached his third career final losing to Sam Querrey. At the Olympic Games, he won silver with Venus Williams in mixed doubles following a loss to compatriots Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Less than a month later, Ram and CoCo Vandeweghe advanced to the mixed doubles final at the US Open, where they were defeated in straight sets by Mate Pavić and Laura Siegemund. In men's doubles, Ram and partner Raven Klaasen qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals. The duo made it out of group play, eventually reaching the finals, where they fell to Henri Kontinen and John Peers in a third-set tiebreak.2019
Ram, with his partner Barbora Krejčíková won Australian Open mixed-doubles tournament in January.World TeamTennis
Ram made his World TeamTennis debut in 2017 with the San Diego Aviators. It was announced that he will be joining the Chicago Smash for their debut season, during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12.Significant finals
Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 2020 | Australian Open | Hard |  Joe Salisbury |  Max Purcell Luke Saville | 6–4, 6–2 |
Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Year-end championship finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Masters 1000 finals
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Olympic medal matches
Mixed doubles: 1 (1 silver medal)
ATP career finals
Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2009 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass |  Sam Querrey | 6–7, 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | 2015 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass |  Ivo Karlović | 7–6, 5–7, 7–6 |
| Loss | 2–1 | 2016 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Singles| | Delray Beach Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Sam Querrey | 4–6, 6–7 |
Doubles: 35 (20 titles, 15 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2005 Pilot Pen Tennis – Men's Doubles| | New Haven Open, United States | Intl Series | Hard | Bobby Reynolds |  Gastón Etlis Martín Rodríguez | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | 2009 Chennai Open – Doubles| | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | Eric Butorac |  Jean-Claude Scherrer Stan Wawrinka | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–1 | 2009 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass | Jordan Kerr |  Michael Kohlmann Rogier Wassen | 6–7, 7–6, |
| Win | 3–1 | 2009 PTT Thailand Open – Doubles| | Thailand Open, Thailand | 250 Series | Hard | Eric Butorac |  Guillermo García López Mischa Zverev | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 4–1 | 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Atlanta Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky |  Rohan Bopanna Kristof Vliegen | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 4–2 | 2011 SA Tennis Open – Doubles| | SA Tennis Open, South Africa | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky | James Cerretani Adil Shamasdin | 3–6, 6–3, |
| Win | 5–2 | 2011 SAP Open – Doubles| | Pacific Coast Championships, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky |  Alejandro Falla Xavier Malisse | 6–4, 4–6, |
| Win | 6–2 | 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Delray Beach Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Scott Lipsky | Christopher Kas Alexander Peya | 4–6, 6–4, |
| Win | 7–2 | 2012 St. Petersburg Open – Doubles| | St. Petersburg Open, Russia | 250 Series | Hard |  Nenad Zimonjić |  Lukáš Lacko Igor Zelenay | 6–2, 4–6, |
| Loss | 7–3 | 2014 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass |  Jonathan Erlich | Chris Guccione Lleyton Hewitt | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 8–3 | 2015 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles| | Halle Open, Germany | 500 Series | Grass |  Raven Klaasen | Rohan Bopanna Florin Mergea | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 8–4 | 2015 Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur – Doubles| | Malaysian Open, Malaysia | 250 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen |  Treat Huey Henri Kontinen | 6–7, 2–6 |
| Loss | 8–5 | 2016 Miami Open – Men's Doubles| | Miami Open, United States | Masters 1000 | Hard | Raven Klaasen |  Pierre-Hugues Herbert Nicolas Mahut | 7–5, 1–6, |
| Loss | 8–6 | 2016 Geneva Open – Doubles| | Geneva Open, Switzerland | 250 Series | Clay | Raven Klaasen | Steve Johnson Sam Querrey | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 9–6 | 2016 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles| | Halle Open, Germany | 500 Series | Grass | Raven Klaasen |  Łukasz Kubot Alexander Peya | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 10–6 | 2016 Chengdu Open – Doubles| | Chengdu Open, China | 250 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Pablo Carreño Busta Mariusz Fyrstenberg | 7–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 10–7 | 2016 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Japan Open, Japan | 500 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Marcel Granollers Marcin Matkowski | 2–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 10–8 | 2016 ATP World Tour Finals – Doubles| | ATP World Tour Finals, United Kingdom | Tour Finals | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Henri Kontinen John Peers | 6–2, 1–6, |
| Win | 11–8 | 2017 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Delray Beach Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Treat Huey Max Mirnyi | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Win | 12–8 | 2017 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Doubles| | Indian Wells Masters, United States | Masters 1000 | Hard | Raven Klaasen | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 6–7, 6–4, |
| Loss | 12–9 | 2017 Ricoh Open – Men's Doubles| | Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, Netherlands | 250 Series | Grass | Raven Klaasen | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 13–9 | 2017 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States | 250 Series | Grass |  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | Matt Reid John-Patrick Smith | 6–4, 4–6, |
| Win | 14–9 | 2017 ATP Shenzhen Open – Doubles| | Shenzhen Open, China | 250 Series | Hard | Alexander Peya | Nikola Mektić Nicholas Monroe | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 15–9 | 2018 BMW Open – Doubles| | Bavarian Championships, Germany | 250 Series | Clay | Ivan Dodig | Nikola Mektić Alexander Peya | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Loss | 15–10 | 2018 Geneva Open – Doubles| | Geneva Open, Switzerland | 250 Series | Clay | Ivan Dodig | Oliver Marach Mate Pavić | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 15–11 | 2018 BB&T Atlanta Open – Doubles| | Atlanta Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Ryan Harrison | Nicholas Monroe John-Patrick Smith | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 15–12 | 2018 ATP Shenzhen Open – Doubles| | Shenzhen Open, China | 250 Series | Hard |  Robert Lindstedt |  Ben McLachlan Joe Salisbury | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 16–12 | 2018 Kremlin Cup – Men's Doubles| | Kremlin Cup, Russia | 250 Series | Hard | Austin Krajicek | Max Mirnyi Philipp Oswald | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 17–12 | 2018 Rolex Paris Masters – Doubles| | Paris Masters, France | Masters 1000 | Hard | Marcel Granollers | Jean-Julien Rojer Horia Tecău | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 17–13 | 2019 Brisbane International – Men's Doubles| | Brisbane International, Australia | 250 Series | Hard | Joe Salisbury |  Marcus Daniell Wesley Koolhof | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 18–13 | 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles| | Dubai Tennis Championships, United Arab Emirates | 500 Series | Hard | Joe Salisbury | Ben McLachlan Jan-Lennard Struff | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 18–14 | 2019 Queen's Club Championships – Doubles| | Queen's Club Championships, United Kingdom | 500 Series | Grass | Joe Salisbury | Feliciano López Andy Murray | 6–7, 7–5, |
| Loss | 18–15 | 2019 European Open – Doubles| | European Open, Belgium | 250 Series | Hard | Joe Salisbury | Kevin Krawietz Andreas Mies | 6–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 19–15 | 2019 Erste Bank Open – Doubles| | Vienna Open, Austria | 500 Series | Hard | Joe Salisbury | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 6–4, 6–7, |
| Win | 20–15 | 2020 Australian Open – Men's Doubles| | Australian Open, Australia | Grand Slam | Hard | Joe Salisbury | Max Purcell Luke Saville | 6–4, 6–2 |
Performance timelines
Singles
1 Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters 2009 – present.2 Held as Madrid Masters until 2008, and Shanghai Masters 2009 – present.
Doubles
Current through the 2020 Australian Open.1 Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters 2009 – present.
2 Held as Madrid Masters until 2008, and Shanghai Masters 2009 – present.