Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi PP SI (Punjabi, ; born 17 March 1980) is a Pakistani former professional tennis player who specialized 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 2010 US Open, alongside Rohan Bopanna and Květa Peschke respectively. Qureshi also reached seven further major semifinals across the two disciplines. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 8 in June 2011, and has won 18 titles on the ATP Tour, including the 2011 Paris Masters and 2013 Miami Open, with Bopanna and Jean-Julien Rojer respectively. Qureshi also qualified for the ATP Finals in doubles on three occasions.
In singles, he reached his highest ranking of world No. 125 in December 2007, and achieved his best Grand Slam result at the Wimbledon Championships that year, reaching the second round. Qureshi is also the most successful Davis Cup player in Pakistan's history, with the team most notably reaching the World Group play-offs in 2005, being defeated by Chile. He has played in the competition since 1998 and has won more matches for Pakistan than any other player, additionally being appointed captain of the team in 2022. Qureshi and Aqeel Khan have regularly spearheaded Pakistan's Davis Cup campaigns, partnering each other in doubles and also competing in singles matches. He recently started a talent-hunting program to find the best tennis players in Pakistan. He has also currently serving as the President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation since February 2024. Qureshi retired from ATP Tour events in November 2025, but is still a member of Pakistan Davis Cup team.
Early life Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was born in a Punjabi family and grew up in Lahore, Pakistan; swimming, playing cricket and football being his favorite pastimes at his alma-mater Crescent Model Higher Secondary School. He started playing tennis relatively late, aged 14, when his maternal grandfather and first coach, Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, a former 10-time national champion, took him to a tennis club in Model Town, Lahore.
Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed was the All-India champion in British India before Pakistan's Independence in 1947. His mother, Nosheen Ihtsham, was also a former women's tennis champion. At age 16, the ITF sponsored him for two years. He won the Pakistan International Junior Championships and went on to win the Casablanca Cup in Mexico and the LTA International Junior Championships in Roehampton, where he beat Olivier Rochus, Andy Ram, and Taylor Dent. In the World Super Junior Championships, he beat Andy Roddick.An Ace Called Aisam By 18, he was a top-20 junior player and decided to turn pro.
Aisam was educated at the University of Punjab.Aisam-ul-Haque, ATP profile
Coaches As a junior, he was coached by LTA. Aisam has been coached by American Robert Davis since 1998. Robert Davis has served as national coach for Peru, Panama, Thailand, and Indonesia. As a writer, he contributes to the ATP's Deuce Magazine, Tennis Magazine USA, tennis.com, Tennis Magazine Australia, and ITF publications, as well as non-sporting publications and newspapers.
Playing style Qureshi prefers the quicker grass courts and has seen his greatest success on grass and hard courts. His playing style is serve-and-volley, relying on his serve to win him points by putting pressure on his opponents.
Sponsorship Qureshi's clothing and shoe sponsor is Lotto. On 29 March 2008, Aisam signed an agreement with Pepsi for sponsorship of a coach for one year. He became the first Pakistani sportsman who wasn't a cricketer to star in a Pepsi advert and become one of their brand ambassadors.
Awards and accolades Ribbon Decoration Country Year Pride of Performance 2004 Sitara-e-Imtiaz 2010 Qureshi teamed with Israeli player Amir Hadad during Wimbledon and the US Open tournaments in 2002. He is now a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.
In November 2010 Aisam was appointed The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) goodwill ambassador.
Aisam was awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year, in 2010 along with his doubles tennis partner Rohan Bopanna of India.Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year Award for 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2010Aisam earned Arthur Ashe award for the second time . Retrieved 12 October 2010 Along with Bopanna, Qureshi received the 2010 "Peace and Sport Image of the Year" award,Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi Win Peace and Sports Award Sports track, 14 October 2010 in recognition of their dedicated efforts to spread the message of peace through sport. Qureshi and his doubles partner Bopanna also created a campaign, "Stop War Start Tennis", with their goal of playing a match on the border of India and Pakistan.
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has received numerous national and international honors throughout his career. He was conferred with the Pride of Performance, one of Pakistan's highest civilian awards, on 14 August 2004, and later received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) in 2010. He was also given the Pakistan President's Award for Performance in 2002, the Salam Pakistan Youth Award by the President of Pakistan in 2007, and was runner-up for the 2003 Anne Frank Award For Moral Courage by the Anne Frank Trust, UK.
In 2011, he was awarded Lux Style Award for Most Stylish Sports Person. Being high-profile tennis star of Pakistan and alumni, he was invited to Crescent Model Higher Secondary School for groundbreaking ceremony of Tennis courts in school.
Career
Juniors Qureshi played his first junior match in August 1995 at the age of 15 at a grade 5 tournament in Syria hand ad a successful career in junior tennis, finishing no. 7 in the world in 1998, which made him Pakistan's highest-ranked player ever in the international youth tennis arena. Qureshi turned pro in 1998.
Junior Grand Slam results - Singles:
Australian Open: 1R (1997, 1998) French Open: 2R (1998) Wimbledon: 3R (1998) US Open: 1R (1997, 1998)
Junior Grand Slam results - Doubles:
Australian Open: QF (1998) French Open: QF (1998) Wimbledon: QF (1998) US Open: QF (1998)
1998: Turning pro and making his Davis Cup debut On 25 September, he played and won his first Davis Cup match against Danai Udomchoke. Paired with Mohamed-Khaliq Siddiq, he won the doubles match. They helped Pakistan beat Thailand 3–2 for the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Final and gained promotion to Group I.
On 28 September, he played his first pro match and got into the doubles final of a Futures tournament in Japan. His singles career also started well, getting into two Futures quarterfinals in Pakistan and Japan, and ended the year ranked no. 779.
1999: Challenger Tour debut Aisam made it into the quarterfinals of his first Challenger tournament in Calcutta but lost to Indian Leander Paes. At the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan, Pakistan lost 4–1, with Aisam winning the only rubber. Paired with Dmitri Tomashevich, he won two doubles Futures titles in Turkey.
In the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania I Relegation Play-off final, China defeated Pakistan 3–0, which saw them relegated back to Group II. In October, Qureshi went on to win his first Futures singles tournament on the hard courts of Indonesia, beating Danai Udomchoke. In Vietnam, Aisam won a doubles Futures title with Mark Nielsen. This was followed up by another singles Futures win in Bangladesh on clay, winning in straight sets. Aisam ended the year ranked no. 365 in singles, and no. 355 in doubles.
2000: Top 250 debut in doubles
In January, he took Pakistan to a 3–2 victory against Hong Kong Asia/Oceania Group II quarter-final. Aisam then began to compete in more on the Challenger circuit, reaching the semi-finals at the Indian Oil Servo Cup in Calcutta in February, defeated by Tuomas Ketola. At the Davis Cup Group II semi-final Pakistan was beaten by Chinese Taipei 3–2, with Aisam winning two of his three rubbers. In May, paired with Dmitri Tomashevich, he reached the semis of the Samarkand Challenger in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. At The LTA Manchester Challenger, in Manchester, UK, Aisam made it to the semi-finals with partner Jamie Delgado.
In July, he took part in the Ted Open, in Istanbul, Turkey, where he made it to the quarter-finals, but was beaten by Oleg Ogorodov 4–6, 7–5, 6–3. Returning to the UK, he played at the LTA Men's Challenger in Wrexham, where he, along with Italian Daniele Bracciali, won in the final 6–4, 6–2. With that Aisam also won his first Challenger doubles title.
He won a futures doubles title in France with Israeli Noam Behr. Together, they participated at the Bukhara Challenger, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, where they reached the final. Aisam won a futures single title in Vietnam, beating Jaroslav Levinský 3–6, 6–2, 6–3, and at the same tournament won a doubles title with Ashley Fisher. Aisam ended the year winning at the Neride Prague Indoor in Prague, Czech Republic where he partnered Kristian Pless.
He finished the year 2000 ranked 261st in singles and 211th in doubles.
2001
Aisam participated in his first ATP tournament at the Chennai Open in Chennai, India, with his partner Vadim Kutsenko of Uzbekistan. They won against Czech pair Petr Kovačka and Pavel Kudrnáč 6–1, 6–7(3), 6–4. However they were knocked out by Zimbabweans Byron Black and Wayne Black 2–6, 0–6. At the Davis Cup, he was unable to help Pakistan as they lost to Chinese Taipei in the Asia/Oceania Group II quarter-final 3–2. He went to Mumbai, India to play in the MTNL ATP Challenger where he reached the doubles semi-final with Dennis van Scheppingen. At the Heineken Challenger in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, he again made it to the doubles semis, this time paired with Denis Golovanov.
In April at the Davis Cup Relegation Play-off semi-final, he helped Pakistan defeat Syria 5–0. The Fergana Challenger, in Fergana, Uzbekistan, still with Golovanov, they made it to the semi-finals but failed again to progress further. In the UK, he played at The Wrexham Challenger in Wrexham; he progressed to the singles semi-final but was knocked out by Ladislav Švarc 2–6, 6–2, 6–3. Although he did reach his first Challenger level doubles final of the year, now with a new partner Luke Bourgeois they fell at the final hurdle.
Asiam returned to Uzbekistan to take part in the Samarkand Challenger in Samarkand, where he made it to the quarter-finals in the singles, and with partner Kirill Ivanov-Smolensky, the doubles semi-final. He stayed in Uzbekistan to play at the Bukhara Challenger, in Bukhara, and with his Dutch partner Rogier Wassen, they won the final 6–2, 6–4.
He won a single futures title in Thailand, beating Yeu-Tzuoo Wang 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. This followed a second in Vietnam against Yen-Hsun Lu. He rounded off the year with a doubles challenger title with Jaroslav Levinský at the 69th King's Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. Aisam ended the year ranked 251st in singles and 170th in doubles.
2002
In February at the Davis Cup, he won both matches, as Pakistan beat Malaysia 4–1. In the next Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei, he won all three rubbers as Pakistan qualified for the Asia/Oceania Group II final. Aisam won a doubles futures title in Kuwait with Tuomas Ketola. At the Fergana Challenger, in Fergana, Uzbekistan, he and Ketola were unable to win in the doubles final.