By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday October 12, 2023
India’s Leander Paes has topped the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Fan Vote for the Class of 2024.
Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic finished second and Spain’s Carlos Moya placed third, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
Fan Voting is one of two steps in the Hall of Fame’s election process. In addition to the Fan Vote, an Official Voting Group comprised of tennis journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers, vote on the Class of 2024 ballot. By winning the Fan Vote, Paes will receive an additional three percentage points added to his vote total.
Paes, Ivanović and Moyá join Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, Canada’s Daniel Nestor, and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta on the ballot in the Player Category. Vijay Amritraj and the United Kingdom’s Richard Evans are nominated in the Contributor Category, which is not considered as part of Fan Voting and is determined by the Official Voting Group only.
Paes is the first Asian man and the first individual from India to be nominated for the Hall of Fame in the Player Category. He is a winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, including eight in doubles and 10 in mixed doubles, and is one of only three men in tennis history to achieve a career Grand Slam in both disciplines.