Country (sports) Pakistan Wimbledon 1R (1955, 1956) Turned pro 1953 Residence Karachi, Pakistan US Open 1R (1964) | Plays Right-handed Name Khwaja Hai Retired 1962 French Open 2R (1956) Role Tennis Player Handed Right-handed | |
Born 5 March 1930 (age 94)
British India ( 1930-03-05 ) | ||
Education Aligarh Muslim University | ||
Khwaja Saeed Hai (born 5 March 1930 in British India) is a former Pakistan No. 1 tennis player, and the first Pakistani tennis player to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam through qualifying matches. He featured in the main draw of the Wimbledon Championships in 1955 and 1956, and reached the second round of French Open. He also played in the U.S. Open in 1964, and played in the Davis Cup for Pakistan.
He studied at the Aligarh Muslim University where he honed his skills. In Wimbledon he played men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.
Apart from playing in the Davis Cup, he has captained Pakistan's Davis Cup team 32 times with results that have not been achieved by any other captain from the country.
When the French Tennis Federation celebrated 100 years of French Championship at Roland Garros, they built a commemorative wall displaying the names of players who had done well during the championship which included the name of Saeed Hai.
Saeed Hai is also the founder President of the International club whose head office is in England. Membership is only open for Grand Slam and Davis Cup players.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) awarded him with a gold medal at their annual general meeting held in Lausnne (Switzerland) before 300 delegates from 198 affiliated associations of ITF including Pakistan.
Khwaja Saeed Hai is the current Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) and a sports legend in the country.