Purav Raja
Purav Raja is an Indian tennis player. He specializes in doubles and competes on the ATP World Tour. He has 2 ATP world tour level titles in men's doubles. He represents India in the Davis Cup.
Personal and early life
Purav Raja grew up in Mumbai and began playing tennis when he was 7 years old. His favorite surface is indoor carpet and his favorite shot is the dropshot. Raja's favorite tournament is Wimbledon and his idols growing up were Stefan Edberg and Steven Gerrard. His hobbies are playing pool, cricket and table tennis. Raja say that if he was not a tennis player he would have been a politician. Raja is very active in the Ananda Ashran orphanage and The Fellowship of the Physically Handicapped in Mumbai. Raja splits his training between Mumbai and Bromley.Professional career
Early years
Raja turned pro in year 2005. 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. The same year he reached his first ATP Challenger doubles final at New Delhi Challenger 4 partnering with compatriot Rohan Gajjar. He won his first doubles ATP Challenger title at 2009 Karshi Challenger with his Australian Partner Sadik Kadir.2010–2012
From year 2010 Raja started finding consistent success at ATP Challenger tour. In year 2010 he reached four Challenger finals and won a title at 2010 Dunlop World Challenge in Tokyo with partner Treat Conrad Huey.In 2011 Raja reached three challenger finals winning one of it at 2011 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.
2013: Breakthrough, First ATP world tour title
In February, Raja made his Davis Cup debut against Korea. He partnered with Indian doubles legend Leander Paes and won his debut tie.2013 proved to be breakthrough year for Raja. He played most of the season with his most successful partner Divij Sharan. The pair performed consistently and reached 5 Challenger finals winning a title at Kyoto Challenger, Japan.
Raja and Divij found their biggest success by winning their first ATP world tour title at 2013 Claro Open in Bogota, Colombia. They defeated second-seed French-Dutch combination of Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Igor Sijsling in the finals.
They also entered qualifying draw at 2013 Wimbledon Championships and successfully qualified for main draw. They lost in first round to Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler. This was the first match at a Grand Slam event for both Raja and Divij.
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.
2014
Raja's performance dipped a bit in year 2014. He could reach only two Challenger finals winning only one title. He won the title with Divij Sharan at Kyoto Challenger in Japan. His performance at ATP world tour level was also poor with his best finish as a semifinal appearance at Zagreb Indoors. As a result his rankings fell out of top 100 and he finished year at 130.2015
Raja started season on strong note. He reached to semifinals at Chennai Open. In February, he partnered with Fabrice Martin and made to the finals at Zagreb Indoors. This was Raja's second ATP world tour level final. They lost to second seeds Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen in the finals.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 at Portorož Challenger and made it to the finals at Hua Hin Challenger. He finished the year at no. 93 ranking in doubles.
2016: Second ATP world tour title
2016 proved to be very good year for Raja. He played for most part of the year with compatriot Divij Sharan and together they reached 6 ATP Challenger finals winning 4 of it. They won titles at Manchester Trophy Challenger, Aegon Surbiton Trophy, Open Castilla y León and Pune Challenger. The pair also won their second ATP world tour title at Los Cabos Open, Mexico. They defeated pair of Jonathan Erlich and Ken Skupski in the finals.In Grand Slams, Raja played his first ever match of French Open main draw along with Ivo Karlovic 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 of Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya.
2017
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 at 2017 Chennai Open with partner Divij Sharan. In an all Indian final they lost to the team of Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.He reached three Challenger finals and won all of it. He won Bordeaux Challenger with Divij. In November, he won back to back titles in two consecutive weeks at Knoxville and Champaign with Leander Paes.
This was the first year in Raja's career where he played in main draw of all four Grand Slams. He played with Divij Sharan in first three slams of the year and partnered with Leander Paes for US Open. He crashed out in opening round at Australian Open, reached third round at French Open and lost in second round at Wimbledon and US Open.
In September, Raja played his second Davis Cup match with Rohan Bopanna in world group play-offs against Canada. But they lost to pair of Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil.
Raja reached his career best ranking of 52 on 17 July 2017 and finished the year with doubles ranking of 60.
2018
Raja registered his best result at Australian Open by reaching third round. His partner at the event was Leander Paes.Raja reached four ATP Challenger finals in 2018. He won two titles at Amex-Istanbul Challenger and Wolffkran Open while finishing as runner-up at Play In Challenger and Bengaluru 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.
ATP career finals
Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2013 Claro Open Colombia – Doubles| | Colombia Open, Colombia | 250 Series | Hard |  Divij Sharan |  Édouard Roger-Vasselin Igor Sijsling | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–1 | 2015 PBZ Zagreb Indoors – Doubles| | Zagreb Indoors, Croatia | 250 Series | Hard | Fabrice Martin |  Marin Draganja Henri Kontinen | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | 2016 Los Cabos Open – Doubles| | Los Cabos Open, Mexico | 250 Series | Hard | Divij Sharan |  Jonathan Erlich Ken Skupski | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | 2017 Aircel Chennai Open – Doubles| | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | Divij Sharan | Rohan Bopanna Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan | 3–6, 4–6 |
Challenger finals
| Legend |
| ATP Challenger Tour |
Doubles: 36 (18–19)
| Outcome | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | New Delhi Challenger| | New Delhi 4, India | Hard | Rohan Gajjar | Harsh Mankad Ashutosh Singh | 6–4, 4–6, |
| Win | 1–1 | 2009 Karshi Challenger| | Karshi, Uzbekistan | Hard |  Sadik Kadir |  Andis Juška Deniss Pavlovs | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | 2010 Due Ponti Cup| | Rome 3, Italy | Clay | Sadik Kadir |  Santiago González  Travis Rettenmaier | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | 2010 Camparini Gioielli Cup| | Reggio Emilia, Italy | Clay | Sadik Kadir |  Philipp Oswald Martin Slanar | 2–6, 7–5, |
| Loss | 1–4 | 2010 Beijing International Challenger| | Beijing, China | Hard | Sadik Kadir |  Pierre-Ludovic Duclos  Artem Sitak | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 2–4 | 2010 Dunlop World Challenge| | Toyota, Japan | Carpet |  Treat Conrad Huey |  Tasuku Iwami Hiroki Kondo | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 3–4 | 2011 Trofeo Paolo Corazzi| | Cremona, Italy | Hard | Treat Conrad Huey |  Tomasz Bednarek Mateusz Kowalczyk | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3–5 | 2011 Guzzini Challenger| | Recanati, Italy | Hard |  Federico Gaio |  Frederik Nielsen Ken Skupski | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 3–6 | 2011 Samsung Securities Cup| | Seoul, South Korea | Hard | Divij Sharan |  Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 3–7 | 2012 Franken Challenge| | Fürth, Germany | Clay | Rameez Junaid |  Arnau Brugués-Davi João Sousa | 5–7, 7–6, |
| Loss | 3–8 | 2012 AEGON Pro-Series Loughborough| | Loughborough, United Kingdom | Hard | Divij Sharan | James Cerretani Adil Shamasdin | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 4–8 | 2013 All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships| | Kyoto, Japan | Carpet | Divij Sharan | Chris Guccione Matt Reid | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 4–9 | 2013 Torneo Internacional AGT| | Leon, Mexico | Hard | Divij Sharan | Chris Guccione Matt Reid | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 4–10 | 2013 Soweto Open| | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Divij Sharan | Prakash Amritraj Rajeev Ram | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 4–11 | 2013 Aegon Nottingham Challenge| | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Grass | Divij Sharan | Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana | 7–6, 6–7, |
| Loss | 4–12 | 2013 Tashkent Challenger| | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Hard | Divij Sharan | Mikhail Elgin Teymuraz Gabashvili | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5–12 | 2014 All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships| | Kyoto, Japan | Carpet | Divij Sharan | Sanchai Ratiwatana  Michael Venus | 5–7, 7–6, |
| Loss | 5–13 | 2014 Comerica Bank Challenger| | Aptos, United States | Hard | Sanam Singh |  Ruben Bemelmans Laurynas Grigelis | 3–6, 6–4, |
| Loss | 5–14 | 2015 China International Guangzhou| | Guangzhou, China | Hard | Fabrice Martin | Daniel Muñoz de la Nava Aleksandr Nedovyesov | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 6–14 | 2015 Tilia Slovenia Open| | Portorož, Slovenia | Hard | Fabrice Martin |  Alexander Bury Andreas Siljeström | 7–6, 4–6, |
| Loss | 6–15 | 2015 Hua Hin Championships| | Hua Hin, Thailand | Hard |  Andre Begemann |  Lee Hsin-han Lu Yen-hsun | Walkover |
| Loss | 6–16 | 2016 Savannah Challenger| | Savannah, United States | Clay | Divij Sharan | Brian Baker Ryan Harrison | 7–5, 6–7, |
| Win | 7–16 | 2016 Aegon Manchester Trophy| | Manchester, United Kingdom | Grass | Divij Sharan | Ken Skupski Neal Skupski | 6–3, 3–6, |
| Win | 8–16 | 2016 Aegon Surbiton Trophy| | Surbiton, United Kingdom | Grass | Divij Sharan | Ken Skupski Neal Skupski | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Win | 9–16 | 2016 Open Castilla y León| | Segovia, Spain | Hard | Divij Sharan | Quino Muñoz Akira Santillan | 6–3, 4–6, |
| Win | 10–16 | 2016 KPIT MSLTA Challenger| | Pune, India | Hard | Divij Sharan |  Luca Margaroli Hugo Nys | 3–6, 6–3, |
| Loss | 10–17 | 2016 Slovak Open| | Bratislava, Slovakia | Hard | Divij Sharan | Ken Skupski Neal Skupski | 6–4, 3–6, |
| Win | 11–17 | 2017 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux| | Bordeaux, France | Clay | Divij Sharan | Santiago González Artem Sitak | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 12–17 | 2017 Knoxville Challenger| | Knoxville, United States | Hard | Leander Paes | James Cerretani John-Patrick Smith | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 13–17 | 2017 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana| | Champaign, United States | Hard | Leander Paes |  Ruan Roelofse Joe Salisbury | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 13–18 | 2018 Play In Challenger| | Lille, France | Hard | Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan | Hugo Nys Tim Puetz | 6–7, 6–1, |
| Win | 14–18 | 2018 Amex-Istanbul Challenger| | Istanbul, Turkey | Hard | Rameez Junaid | Timur Khabibulin Vladyslav Manafov | 7–6, 4–6, |
| Win | 15–18 | 2018 Wolffkran Open| | Ismaning, Germany | Carpet | Antonio Šančić | Rameez Junaid David Pel | 5–7, 6–4, |
| Loss | 15–19 | 2018 Bengaluru Open| | Bangalore, India | Hard | Antonio Šančić | Max Purcell Luke Saville | 6–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 16–19 | 2019 Kobe Challenger – Doubles| | Kobe, Japan | Hard | Ramkumar Ramanathan | André Göransson  Christopher Rungkat | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 17–19 | 2019 KPIT MSLTA Challenger| | Pune, India | Hard | Ramkumar Ramanathan | Arjun Kadhe Saketh Myneni | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 18–19 | 2020 Bengaluru Open| | Bangalore, India | Hard | Ramkumar Ramanathan | Matthew Ebden Leander Paes | 6-0, 6-3 |
Doubles performance timeline
''Updated through the 2019 Australian Open.| 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 | 0/3 | 2–3 | |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 0/5 | 1–5 | |
| US Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 0/2 | 1–2 | |
| Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0/12 | 6–12 |