Daughter of tennis legend makes professional debut for Great Britain

Leander Paes, the 18-time Grand Slam champion and India's most successfultennis player, has seen his daughter make her professional debut. Aiyana Paes, who has chosen to represent Great Britain, is now looking to carve out her own legacy in the sport.

Leander, a legend in doubles tennis, retired in 2020 after a glittering career that saw him break records and earn a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The 52-year-old won the most doubles matches in Davis Cup history, clinched a bronze medal in singles tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and became the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Now, his 19-year-old daughter Aiyana aims to create her own legacy. Currently based in Barcelona, she trains at one of the world's top tennis academies and has ambitions to match or even surpass her father's achievements.

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Earlier this year, Aiyana took a significant step towards her goal. As reported by Indian Tennis Daily, she made her professional debut in March at the ITF W15 Alaminos Futures in Cyprus.

Despite going through the qualifying draw, she was defeated in the opening round.

Since then, Aiyana has competed in four more ITF Futures events. Born to a British mother, model Rhea Laila Pillai, she represents Great Britain on the professional circuit.

However, it's her father's footsteps she's determined to follow in. In a chat with Travel and Leisure India back in June, Leander revealed: "She came to me at 12 and said, 'I want to be a professional tennis player'.

"I laughed at first. But she was serious. She said, 'I want to be like Dadaji (her grandfather), not you. You're always joking.'"

In 2020, Leander shared: "I have been teaching her the nuances of the family trade, which is physical fitness, emotional happiness, and mental fitness... She wants to be an Olympic champion herself and I get goosebumps when I think of a third-generation Olympic medallist. I'll try to nurture that (dream)."

Aiyana's grandad is Vece Paes, who sadly passed away aged 80 in August. Vece bagged bronze medals with the Indian hockey team at the 1972 Munich Summer Games and the 1971 Hockey World Cup in Barcelona.

Vece's illustrious career spanned many fields; he became a sports medicine doctor, the president of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, and the president of the Indian Rugby Football Union. With such a rich sporting lineage, Aiyana certainly has a lot to live up to.

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