Aqeel Khan (born 30 January 1980, in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player. His favourite surface is Grass. He is coached by Pakistani tennis coach Jamil Khan, who is his father. Aqeel Khan is sponsored by Jaffer Brothers (Jaffer Group of Companies).

Career

His career highlights include helping the Pakistan Davis Cup team defeat favourites,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, in the Davis Cup, by beating Simon Rea, 7–6⁽⁵⁾, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the fifth rubber; and reaching the Davis Cup World Group play-offs against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. Despite the potential to move further up the rankings, opportunities have been limited due to a lack of funds, and not enough ITF tournaments being played in Pakistan. It means he has to travel to India to play matches. Aqeel Khan was involved in the longest-known

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

tiebreak to date when losing to Korea's Kim Young-jun in the 2003 Asia/Oceania Group I Relegation play-off 7–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6, with the first set tiebreak lasting 36 points. He also holds the record for playing the most ties for Pakistan in the Davis Cup, and has the best doubles partnership, with

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi ( Punjabi, ; born 17 Mar 1980) is a Pakistani professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is the only Pakistani player ever to reach a Grand Slam final, having done so in both men's and mixed doubles at the ...

, for Pakistan. His younger brother i
Jalil Khan
the Pakistan number 3 and Davis Cupper. He also has another youth tennis playing brother calle
Yasir Khan
Aqeel Khan began playing tennis at the age of 9, whilst attending school in Karachi to avoid doing duties as a

ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids, are individuals, usually human youths, but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tenn ...

. He began playing junior tennis in 1993 at the Pakistan International Junior Championships. He turned pro in 1998 and played his first Davis Cup match in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, Pakistan, beating Sanjeev Tikaram of

Pacific Oceania Pacific Oceania (abbreviated to POC) is the name given to the group of small nations of the South Pacific Ocean, Southern, Southwest Pacific, Southwestern, Central and Western Pacific Ocean that compete collectively as one country in both the Dav ...

, 6–1, 6–3. In 2002, at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

, he reached the second round in the singles, doubles and team events. In 2004, he made it to the final of the ITF India 1 Satellite Masters tournament in

Gurgaon Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest ...

. He then went on to win two of the three legs of the ITF Satellite Championship in Pakistan, and finished off by winning the Pakistan Satellite Masters in

. He won a singles Futures tournament in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India, and also won the Indian DSCL National tennis championship in New Delhi. Aqeel also won a doubles Satellite title in Pakistan. In 2005 he won a Satellite title in India and twice made it into the finals. Aqeel Khan also got to two doubles Futures Finals in Iran. He won Bronze in the Tennis singles event at the Islamic Solidarity Games in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

2005, where he also won Gold with

in the doubles, and Gold in team event. Also he played in the Davis Cup playoff against Chile in Santiago, when he was thrashed by then current Olympic medalist

Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major tournaments. He contested hi ...

6–0, 6–0 6–1 in the first rubber. He also won a Satellite in India in 2006. In the doubles, he also won the India 2 Masters satellite in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. In the first Indo-Pak tennis series, he and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi were beaten in the 5 rubber tournament 3–2. At the 2006

, he reached the second round in singles, and paired with Qureshi, he reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual winners and first seeds

Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-tim ...

and

Mahesh Bhupathi Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles, he ...

6–2, 6–4. In 2007, Aqeel Khan won a futures tournament in

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

, India. He represented Pakistan at the Asian tennis championship in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, seeded sixth, but lost in the second round. In the doubles he partnered Indian Aditya Madkekar, but was knocked out at the quarter-finals. He then went on to win his second futures title of the year at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan. In 2008 Aqeel Khan was called up the Pakistan Davis Cup squad and prepared for the hectic Asia/Oceania Group III schedule. During the Davis Cup, he was inspired form, as Pakistan won each tie 3–0 to gain promotion back to Asia/Oceania Group II. He went to New Delhi, India to play in his first Challenger level tournament, however he was knocked out in both singles and doubles in the first round. Later in the year he reach a futures final in New Delhi, India but was defeated. In October, he made it to the doubles final in

, Pakistan. He returned to Davis Cup action in 2009, and won his rubber against Oman in the first round of the Asia/Oceania Group II. To get some match practice ahead of the Davis Cup match against the Philippines, Aqeel was sent to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

to play in a futures tournament in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

. He reached the doubles final with Malaysian

Si Yew Ming Si Yew Ming (born 24 August 1979) is a Malaysian former professional tennis player. Biography Ming, who made his Davis Cup debut for Malaysia in 1999, studied in the United States in the early stage of his career, first at Cumberland College (Wi ...

, but were defeated by the first seeds. Without Aisam Qureshi, Pakistan went down in the Davis Cup 3–2 to the Philippines. Aisam's decision to play at an ATP tournament was criticised by Aqeel who felt they were let down by him. After which opportunities for Aqeel to play aboard were few and far between, mostly being restricted to Davis Cup matches. In 2010, he helped Pakistan beat Hong Kong, only to lose to New Zealand 3–2 in the next round. He also took part in the Commonwealth Games where he reached the second round in the singles and the first round in the doubles. In the Asian Games, he was Pakistan's sole representative in tennis but could go no further than the second round. In 2011, Pakistan once again beat Hong Kong in the first round of the Davis Cup, but lost 4–0 to South Korea to remain in Group II. Outside of playing tennis, he also coached Sri Lanka in 2011 for their Group III matches, who went on to win every match and gain promotion to Group II for 2012.

Singles titles

Singles runner-up

Doubles titles

Doubles runner-up

Other career finals

Doubles

External links

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Aqeel Khan Recent Match Results

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For Aqeel, India is home away from home

We were let down by Aisam, says Aqeel

Pakistan Tennis’ Greatest Lost Talent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Aqeel Pakistani male tennis players 1980 births Living people Asian Games competitors for Pakistan Commonwealth Games competitors for Pakistan Tennis players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Racket sportspeople from Karachi Tennis players at the 1998 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2002 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2006 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2010 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2014 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2018 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2022 Asian Games Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in tennis South Asian Games silver medalists for Pakistan South Asian Games bronze medalists for Pakistan South Asian Games medalists in tennis Islamic Solidarity Games gold medalists for Pakistan Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Pakistan Islamic Solidarity Games bronze medalists for Pakistan 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen