Nirupama Mankad (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Vasant; born 17 January 1947) is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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. She is the first Indian woman in the

modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

to play at a main draw of a

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

. She was active from 1964 to 1979 and contested 25 finals and won 18 singles titles.She was one of the torch runners in the most famous spirit of freedom video that played on Indian television in the 1980’s.

Career

Nirupama Mankad is the daughter of G. Vasant, a leading tennis player in India in his time. She survives her husband, the late

Ashok Mankad Ashok Mulvantrai Mankad (12 October 1946 – 1 August 2008) was an Indian cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he played for India in 22 Test matches. Ashok Mankad was born in a Vadnagra Nagar Brahmin family as the eldest son of Vinoo Man ...

, a former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

er. Their son

Harsh Mankad Harsh Mankad (born 10 November 1979) is a former world ranked ATP Professional tennis player from India. He played Davis Cup for India between 2001–2010 and was the No. 1 singles player on the team for several of those years. Personal life ...

is an Indian

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 ...

player. Mankad won the Asian women's tennis championship in 1965 at the age of 17. She played

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

junior event in 1965 and partnered

Anand Amritraj Anand Amritraj (born 20 March 1951) is an Indian former tennis player and businessman. He, along with brother Vijay Amritraj, led India into the 1974 Davis Cup finals against South Africa, and was a part of the Indian team captained by Vijay ...

in the mixed doubles event in 1971, reaching the second round. She took part in tournaments on ILTF European Circuit when she played in Europe such as reaching the semi finals at the Ilkley Open in 1970 where she lost to Corinne Molesworth who went on to win that event. She was India's top ranked tennis player between 1965 and 1978, winning the national championship seven times during this time. She won the Indian government's

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

in 1980. Her best ranking was No 1, and was also a two-time Asian champion and a Fed Cup player.

ILTF Career finals

Singles:25 (18 titles, 7 runners-up)

Doubles:19 (11 titles, 8 runners-up)

References

External links

* K. R. Wadhwaney, ''Arjuna Awardees'', Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 2002, * P.K. Datta, ''A Century of Indian Tennis'', Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 2001, {{DEFAULTSORT:Mankad, Nirupama 1947 births Living people Indian female tennis players Recipients of the Arjuna Award Racket sportspeople from Karachi Racket sportspeople from Mumbai 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people