Raja at the2018 French Open | |
| Country (sports) | |
|---|---|
| Residence | Mumbai, India |
| Born | (1985-12-07)7 December 1985 (age 39) Mumbai, India |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Turned pro | 2005 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | US$598,677 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 0–1 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 813 (30 July 2007) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 67–87 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 52 (17 July 2017) |
| Current ranking | No. 214 (15 January 2024) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2018) |
| French Open | 3R (2017) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2017) |
| US Open | 2R (2017) |
| Last updated on: 21 January 2024. | |
Purav Raja (/ˈpʊərævˈrɑːdʒə/POOR-avRAH-jə;[1] born 7 December 1985) is anIndiantennis player. He specializes in doubles and competes on the ATP World Tour. He has won two ATP doubles titles and represents India in theDavis Cup.
Purav Raja grew up inMumbai and began playing tennis when he was 7 years old. He citesindoor carpet as his preferred surface, with his favourite shot being thedrop shot. Raja was educated atMillfield inSomerset.[2]
Raja is very active in the Ananda Ashran orphanage and The Fellowship of the Physically Handicapped in Mumbai. He splits his training between Mumbai andBromley.[3]
Raja turned pro in year 2005.[4] He started with ITF tour finding negligible success in singles but continued to excel in doubles. In year 2007 he started emerging as a doubles specialist as he went on to win 4 ITF titles. He followed his success in year 2008 with four more ITF doubles titles.[5] The same year he reached his first ATP Challenger doubles final atNew Delhi Challenger 4 partnering with compatriotRohan Gajjar.[6] He won his first doubles ATP Challenger title at2009 Karshi Challenger with his Australian PartnerSadik Kadir.[7]
From year 2010 Raja started finding consistent success at ATP Challenger tour. In year 2010 he reached four Challenger finals and won a title at2010 Dunlop World Challenge in Tokyo with partnerTreat Conrad Huey.In 2011 Raja reached three challenger finals winning one of it at2011 Trofeo Paolo Corazzi. His performance dipped slightly in 2012. He reached only two Challenger finals and could not win a title after three successful years.
In February, Raja made hisDavis Cup debut against Korea. He partnered with Indian doubles legendLeander Paes and won his debut tie.[8]
2013 proved to be breakthrough year for Raja. He played most of the season with his most successful partnerDivij Sharan. The pair performed consistently and reached 5 Challenger finals winning a title atKyoto Challenger, Japan. Raja and Divij found their biggest success by winning their first ATP world tour title at2013 Claro Open in Bogotá, Colombia. They defeated second-seed French-Dutch combination ofÉdouard Roger-Vasselin andIgor Sijsling in the finals.[9]
They also entered qualifying draw at2013 Wimbledon Championships and successfully qualified for main draw. They lost in first round toNicholas Monroe andSimon Stadler. This was the first match at a Grand Slam event for both Raja and Divij.[10]
As a result of good run Raja entered top 100 rankings for the first time in his career. He also finished year inside top 100 doubles rankings at 90.
Raja's performance dipped a bit in year 2014. He could reach only two Challenger finals winning only one title. He won the title withDivij Sharan atKyoto Challenger in Japan.[11] His performance at ATP world tour level was also poor with his best finish as a semifinal appearance atZagreb Indoors. As a result, his rankings fell out of top 100 and he finished year at 130.
Raja started season on strong note. He reached to semifinals atChennai Open. In February, he partnered withFabrice Martin and made to the finals atZagreb Indoors. This was Raja's second ATP world tour level final. They lost to second seedsMarin Draganja andHenri Kontinen in the finals.[12]But after strong performance at ATP world tour level Raja started to struggle with his form. He could make it to only one Challenger final in first half of the season. He made good comeback in second half. He won a title atPortorož Challenger and made it to the finals atHua Hin Challenger. He finished the year at no. 93 ranking in doubles.
2016 proved to be very good year for Raja. He played for most part of the year with compatriotDivij Sharan and together they reached 6 ATP Challenger finals winning 4 of it. They won titles atManchester Trophy Challenger,Aegon Surbiton Trophy,Open Castilla y León andPune Challenger. The pair also won their second ATP world tour title atLos Cabos Open, Mexico. They defeated pair ofJonathan Erlich andKen Skupski in the finals.[13]
In Grand Slams, Raja played his first ever match ofFrench Open main draw along withIvo Karlović of Croatia. But they crashed out in the opening round of the men's doubles event. The duo lost 1–6, 2–6 to ninth seeded Polish-Austrian pair ofŁukasz Kubot andAlexander Peya.[14]
Raja continued his good form in year 2017. He started the new season on strong note by reaching to his fourth ATP world tour final at2017 Chennai Open with partnerDivij Sharan. In an all Indian final they lost to the team ofRohan Bopanna andJeevan Nedunchezhiyan.[15]
He reached three Challenger finals and won all of it. He wonBordeaux Challenger with Divij.[16] In November, he won back to back titles in two consecutive weeks atKnoxville andChampaign withLeander Paes.[17]
This was the first year in Raja's career where he played in main draw of all four Grand Slams. He played withDivij Sharan in first three slams of the year and partnered withLeander Paes for US Open. He crashed out in opening round atAustralian Open, reached third round atFrench Open and lost in second round atWimbledon andUS Open.
In September, Raja played his second Davis Cup match withRohan Bopanna in world group play-offs against Canada. But they lost to pair ofDaniel Nestor andVasek Pospisil.[18]
Raja reached his career best ranking of 52 on 17 July 2017 and finished the year with doubles ranking of 60.
Raja registered his best result at Australian Open by reaching third round. His partner at the event wasLeander Paes.[19]
Raja reached four ATP Challenger finals in 2018. He won two titles atAmex-Istanbul Challenger[20] andWolffkran Open[21] while finishing as runner-up atPlay in Challenger andBengaluru Open.
On ATP tour he reached only two semifinals and had first round exit at 10 events. At the lack of poor performance on ATP world tour, he finished year at ranking of 90.
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 2013 | Colombia Open, Colombia | 250 Series | Hard | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–3) | ||
| Loss | 1–1 | Feb 2015 | Zagreb Indoors, Croatia | 250 Series | Hard (i) | 4–6, 4–6 | ||
| Win | 2–1 | Aug 2016 | Los Cabos Open, Mexico | 250 Series | Hard | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–3) | ||
| Loss | 2–2 | Jan 2017 | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Legend |
|---|
| ATP Challenger Tour (21–24) |
| Outcome | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Aug 2008 | New Delhi 4, India | Hard | 6–4, 4–6, [9–11] | ||
| Win | 1–1 | Aug 2009 | Karshi, Uzbekistan | Hard | 6–3, 7–6(7–4) | ||
| Loss | 1–2 | Jun 2010 | Rome 3, Italy | Clay | 2–6, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 1–3 | Jun 2010 | Reggio Emilia, Italy | Clay | 2–6, 7–5, [6–10] | ||
| Loss | 1–4 | Aug 2010 | Beijing, China | Hard | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(5–7) | ||
| Win | 2–4 | Nov 2010 | Toyota, Japan | Carpet (i) | 6–1, 6–2 | ||
| Win | 3–4 | May 2011 | Cremona, Italy | Hard | 6–1, 6–2 | ||
| Loss | 3–5 | Jul 2011 | Recanati, Italy | Hard | 4–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 3–6 | Oct 2011 | Seoul, South Korea | Hard | 4–6, 6–7(3–7) | ||
| Loss | 3–7 | Jun 2012 | Fürth, Germany | Clay | 5–7, 7–6(7–4), [9–11] | ||
| Loss | 3–8 | Nov 2012 | Loughborough, United Kingdom | Hard | 4–6, 5–7 | ||
| Win | 4–8 | Mar 2013 | Kyoto, Japan | Carpet | 6–4, 7–5 | ||
| Loss | 4–9 | Apr 2013 | Leon, Mexico | Hard | 3–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 4–10 | May 2013 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | 6–7(1–7), 6–7(1–7) | ||
| Loss | 4–11 | Jun 2013 | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Grass | 7–6(7–5), 6–7(3–7), [8–10] | ||
| Loss | 4–12 | Oct 2013 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Hard | 4–6, 4–6 | ||
| Win | 5–12 | Mar 2014 | Kyoto, Japan | Carpet | 5–7, 7–6(7–3), [10–4] | ||
| Loss | 5–13 | Aug 2014 | Aptos, United States | Hard | 3–6, 6–4, [9–11] | ||
| Loss | 5–14 | Mar 2015 | Guangzhou, China | Hard | 2–6, 5–7 | ||
| Win | 6–14 | Aug 2015 | Portorož, Slovenia | Hard | 7–6(7–5), 4–6, [18–16] | ||
| Loss | 6–15 | Nov 2015 | Hua Hin, Thailand | Hard | Walkover | ||
| Loss | 6–16 | Apr 2016 | Savannah, United States | Clay | 7–5, 6–7(4–7), [8–10] | ||
| Win | 7–16 | Jun 2016 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Grass | 6–3, 3–6, [11–9] | ||
| Win | 8–16 | Jun 2016 | Surbiton, United Kingdom | Grass | 6–4, 7–6(7–3) | ||
| Win | 9–16 | Jul 2016 | Segovia, Spain | Hard | 6–3, 4–6, [10–8] | ||
| Win | 10–16 | Oct 2016 | Pune, India | Hard | 3–6, 6–3, [11–9] | ||
| Loss | 10–17 | Nov 2016 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Hard | 6–4, 3–6, [5–10] | ||
| Win | 11–17 | May 2017 | Bordeaux, France | Clay | 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| Win | 12–17 | Nov 2017 | Knoxville, United States | Hard (i) | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4) | ||
| Win | 13–17 | Nov 2017 | Champaign, United States | Hard (i) | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), [10–5] | ||
| Loss | 13–18 | Mar 2018 | Lille, France | Hard | 6–7(3–7), 6–1, [7–10] | ||
| Win | 14–18 | Sep 2018 | Istanbul, Turkey | Hard | 7–6(7–4), 4–6, [10–7] | ||
| Win | 15–18 | Oct 2018 | Ismaning, Germany | Carpet | 5–7, 6–4, [10–5] | ||
| Loss | 15–19 | Nov 2018 | Bangalore, India | Hard | 6–7(3–7), 3–6 | ||
| Win | 16–19 | Nov 2019 | Kobe, Japan | Hard (i) | 7–6(8–6), 6–3 | ||
| Win | 17–19 | Nov 2019 | Pune, India | Hard (i) | 7–6(7–3), 6–3 | ||
| Win | 18–19 | Feb 2020 | Bangalore, India | Hard | 6–0, 6–3 | ||
| Win | 19–19 | Oct 2021 | Lisbon, Portugal | Clay | 7–6(7–5), 6–3 | ||
| Loss | 19–20 | Nov 2021 | Tenerife, Spain | Hard | 3–6, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 19–21 | Mar 2022 | Biel/Bienne, Switzerland | Hard (i) | 3–6, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 19–22 | Jul 2022 | Indianapolis, USA | Hard (i) | 6–7(3–7), 6–3, [7–10] | ||
| Win | 20–22 | Sep 2022 | Istanbul, Turkey | Hard | 6–4, 3–6, [10–8] | ||
| Loss | 20–23 | Oct 2022 | Mouilleron-le-Captif, France | Hard (i) | 7–6(7–1), 6–7(6–8), [6–10] | ||
| Win | 21–23 | Nov 2022 | Helsinki, Finland | Hard (i) | 6–7(5–7), 6–3, [10–8] | ||
| Loss | 21–24 | Mar 2023 | Les Franqueses del Vallès, Spain | Hard | 5–7, 1–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Updated through the2019 Wimbledon Championships.
| Tournament | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | A | 0/2 | 2–2 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 0/3 | 2–3 |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 0/6 | 1–6 |
| US Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 0/2 | 1–2 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0/12 | 6–12 |