Leander Paes drops first teaser of his upcoming biopic on social media

Arguably one of the best doubles tennis players in the world, Leander Paes, has hinted at an upcoming biopic/documentary on social media. Paes has been a flag-bearer for India on the international tennis stage for several years now. While the 47-year-old is yet to confirm his retirement from the sport if his social media handles are to be believed, we might soon see a documentary dedicated to his legendary career. 

On Wednesday, Leander Paes shared a short teaser on Twitter with the caption "Relieving memories" and "Building the future." The short 54-second teaser listed down the numerous accolades under his name with a short highlight reel of his career. The video ended with 'Lionheart has a new address.' Does this mean, a new documentary based on Leander Paes is coming soon? The 18-time Grand Slam champion will likely provide more details about the same in the coming days. 

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It's just a matter of time before Leander Paes joins the likes of MS Dhoni and Milkha Singh with a biopic dedicated to his career. Back in 2016, Paes confirmed that preliminary discussions for a biopic have already begun. "My biopic will try to emphasise on my struggle to become a tennis player. It will try to show how I have fought back to establish myself through extensive hard work almost throughout life. My biopic will be made in a way which can set an example for the new generation tennis players," Paes revealed during a press conference in 2016. 

Leander Paes announced his intention to retire from the sport at the end of the 2020 season. However, due to much of the season being washed out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Paes is still awaiting his swansong. During a recent Facebook live session with former doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi, Paes confirmed he hasn't made a decision whether he will come back in 2021. 

Paes was initially hoping to try and qualify for the 2020 Olympics, which would have served as his way to bid goodbye to the sport. Since the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to 2021, the tennis legend remains unsure if his body can keep up with the rigorous qualifying schedule for another year. "At 47 it is not easy to keep this body young and I'm hoping the vaccine comes out soon and we get back to travel and playing. I will make that decision down the line," he said during the Facebook session. 

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Leander Paes records

Most of his doubles career success came with countryman Mahesh Bhupathi. The duo began their partnership in 1994. They enjoyed word recognition in 1999, winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. Bhupathi and Paes won the French Open for the second time in 2001. While the duo split due to personal differences, Paes continued his doubles success with several different partners. In 2012, Paes became a doubles Grand Slam champion after winning the Australian Open with Radek Stepanek. As a doubles competitor, Leander Paes has won one Wimbledon, one Australian Open, three French Opens and three US Opens. 

He enjoyed similar success as a mixed doubles competitor, winning four Wimbledons, three Australian Opens, two US Opens and one French Open. Leander Paes achieved the career Grand Slam as a mixed doubles player in 2016. He holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup, although Paes has never won the tournament, leading India to three runner-up medals. Leander Paes' participation in the men's doubles competition at Rio Olympics 2016 was his seventh consecutive Olympics appearance - a record number of appearances for an Indian athlete. 

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(Image Credits: Leander Paes Instagram)