During an emotional career retrospective with host Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast (The Tennis Tribe), 6-time Grand Slam champion, 2-time Olympic silver medalist, and former World No. 1 Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 revealed the foundational lesson from his late father, Raghav Ram—who hit balls with him every single day until age 12 yet never held a single conversation about winning, losing, or rankings. Fresh off his 2026 US Open semifinal farewell alongside longtime partner Joe Salisbury (GBR) and speaking from the Tennis Channel booth in Paris, Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 also opened his tactical notebook on mastering the server’s partner net position, scouting all 10 players in the ATP Doubles Top 10, the ATP’s proposed 2028 doubles cuts, and his educational mission with Christel House India in Bengaluru.
Told to Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast: why defending the 2022 US Open to reach World No. 1 tops his career list, and why his late father Raghav never once spoke about winning or losing.
Shared on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast: how deflecting rather than hitting gave Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 the tour’s #1 point-win rate at net, plus his candid scouting report on all 10 top doubles stars.
Discussed with Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast: why the ATP must market doubles as a team sport before cutting draws, and his work with Christel House India and Nishesh Basavareddy 🇺🇸.
Inside the Tennis Channel broadcast booth in Paris: Producers in the ear and the mute-button rule
Opening the conversation on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast from Paris, host Will Boucek asked Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 about his transition into live television analysis for Tennis Channel during the Paris Masters. Having previously called matches in Cincinnati, Rome, and Paris alongside a week in the studio, Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 explained that live commentary requires far more multitasking than viewers at home realize.
You are in Paris doing commentary for Tennis Channel. What has surprised you most about life behind the microphone compared to being on court?
“There is a lot more than just talking tennis. You have got your mic on and your headphones, and you have got a producer in your ear all the time, just trying to navigate that and still talk about the match. You always hear stories about people thinking they are pressing the mute button when they cough or say something off-air, and they do not. So far I have been unscathed, but I do not expect that to last.”
Top 3 career moments, the unlikely 2026 US Open semifinal farewell, and his late father Raghav’s philosophy
In Stage 2 of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast interview, Will Boucek asked Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 to rank the top 3 moments of his 22-year professional career—a resume featuring 6 Grand Slam trophies (4 in men’s doubles at the 2020 Australian Open and the 2021, 2022, and 2023 US Open; 2 in mixed doubles at the 2019 and 2021 Australian Open), 2 Olympic silver medals (2016 Rio mixed doubles and 2024 Paris men’s doubles), the ATP Doubles World No. 1 ranking, and 2 ATP Tour singles titles in Newport (2009 and 2015, peaking at No. 56 in singles).
Becoming only the 2nd team in the Open Era (after the Woodies) to defend the US Open men’s doubles crown with Joe Salisbury (GBR)—and clinching the ATP World No. 1 ranking in the same match (“2 birds with 1 stone”).
Starting his journey as a pure singles player and winning 2 ATP 250 singles titles on the grass courts of Newport at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Lifting his 1st men’s doubles Grand Slam trophy in Melbourne alongside Joe Salisbury (GBR) to launch their historic 4-major partnership.
Entering New York after neither partner had won back-to-back matches all year—and surging to the 2026 US Open semifinals before an on-court retirement tribute led by Craig Tiley and Eric Butorac.
As Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 recounted to Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast, his 2026 farewell summer almost derailed before New York. Knowing 2026 would be his final season, he suffered a severe calf tear in Eastbourne that required 8 weeks of recovery and forced him to miss Wimbledon—a setback he called 1 of the most disappointing moments of his career. When he and Joe Salisbury reunited in North America, neither player had won back-to-back matches all year, and their own team members had scheduled other commitments for week 2 of the US Open that they had to cancel day after day as the pair charged into the semifinals.
Highlighting their 2nd-round escape on Stadium 17 at the 2026 US Open—where Joe Salisbury struggled on his service toss, lost serve while serving for the opening set, and trailed by a set and a break—Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 explained to Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast why brutal honesty is the bedrock of elite doubles chemistry:
“The important part is that you address whatever issue it is, and I can trust that my partner is going to be straight up with me and not be like, ‘Oh no, I am fine.’ In doubles, you do not have to be at your best every day, because you have a teammate to rely on—and sometimes a simple cue like throwing the toss up a little higher or hitting the serve before running to the net changes everything.”
Reflecting on his post-match retirement ceremony at the 2026 US Open—where his former University of Illinois coach Craig Tiley and close friend Eric Butorac presented his tribute on court—Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 shared with the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast the defining lesson from his late father, Raghav Ram, who hit balls with him every day until age 12 before passing away in 2019:
“I do not ever remember having a conversation with my dad about winning and losing. It was always about: how did you play, how can you improve, what can you do? Younger players and parents of younger players today are so fixated on winning all the time, results and rankings. We never had any of those conversations, ever.”
The 2017 singles-to-doubles pivot, Louis Cayer’s training blueprint, and how to master the server’s partner position at net
Moving into Stage 3 of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast, Will Boucek explored how Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 transitioned from playing over 100 combined singles and doubles matches in 2016 (when he qualified for the ATP Finals in doubles for the 1st time while still competing full-time in singles) to committing 100% to doubles in 2017 at age 33. Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 noted that giving up singles created an unexpected challenge: losing a doubles match on a Monday morning in a 10-point match tiebreak could leave a player with 12 days before their next competitive match, causing total match repetitions to plummet.
Working with renowned doubles specialist coach Louis Cayer starting in 2019 taught Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 how to structure high-pressure practice sessions that replicated match intensity. When Will Boucek cited LTA performance analytics and coach Rob Morgan’s assessment that Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 possessed the highest point-win percentage on balls touched at the net of any server’s partner on the ATP Tour, Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 broke down his 3-part net playbook for listeners of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast:
- 1. Own Your Physical Identity & Zone: Unlike an explosive lateral mover like Joe Salisbury (GBR), Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 recognized that excessive movement threw off his balance at contact. His mindset at net was simple: “I am not going to touch every ball, but if I am going to touch it, you are probably not going to touch it anymore.”
- 2. High-Volume Multi-Angle Rapid Feeding Drills: Practicing hours of rapid hand-fed and racquet-fed balls from wide return angles, forehand body, backhand body, and down-the-T locations—rehearsing both standard and I-formation movement whether poaching or holding.
- 3. “Deflect” the Ball Instead of “Hitting” It: Eliminating big backswings on fast exchanges by thinking of deflecting the ball off a compact racquet face rather than swinging at it—a cue that prevents late errors on 2nd-serve pressure points and tiebreaks.
Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸’s unfiltered scouting playbook on toughest rivals and every player in the ATP Doubles Top 10
In the centerpiece tactical segment of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast (Stage 4), host Will Boucek asked Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 to name the toughest opponents he ever faced and then walk player-by-player through the top 10 competitors on the ATP Doubles Tour. Before entering the top 10 list, Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 highlighted 2 matchups that consistently tested him: New Zealand’s Michael Venus (whose sheer, uninhibited ball-striking velocity created constant uncertainty at the net) and the Croatian Olympic gold-medal duo of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who defeated Ram and Salisbury 5 consecutive times in 2021 across 7 clashes because both Croatians were virtually impenetrable in the server’s partner net position.
Below is the complete 10-player ATP Doubles scouting table as shared by Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 with host Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast (The Tennis Tribe):
| # | ATP Doubles Player | Signature Weapon (via Doubles Only Podcast) | Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸’s Scouting Note to Will Boucek |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Patten (GBR) | Huge lefty serve, return & 1st volley | Calm in big moments with unhurried, effective court craft; Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 sees shades of his own game in Patten. |
| 2 | Harri Heliovaara (FIN) | Topspin backhand lob return & 2nd serve | Competitive needle who gets under opponents’ skin and pioneered the hit topspin backhand lob return off 2nd serves. |
| 3 | Neal Skupski (GBR) | Tour’s ultimate chameleon partner | Adapts seamlessly to win alongside completely different styles—from Wesley Koolhof and Joe Salisbury to Christian Harrison, Dan Evans, and Jack Sock. |
| 4 | Christian Harrison (USA) | Explosive ball-striking off both wings | Overcame multiple career-threatening surgeries through relentless work ethic; generates immediate pace off forehand and backhand. |
| 5 | Horacio Zeballos (ARG) | Ad-court T serve & lefty kick serve | Underrated server who owns the ad-court T and possesses the best left-handed kick serve Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 ever returned. |
| 6 | Marcel Granollers (ESP) | #1 competitive intensity & leadership | The fiercest competitor Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 ever faced; Ram/Salisbury’s actual scouting note was: “Raj, you have to be as loud and boisterous as Marcel.” |
| 7 | Andrea Vavassori (ITA) | High-margin heavy spin 1st serve & athleticism | Missed only 2 of his 1st serves to Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸’s side across an entire 3-set Roland Garros QF; dominant when comfortable, so opponents must ruffle his rhythm early. |
| 8 | Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) | Streak serving & close-to-net finishing | Transformed his net game into a lethal weapon; must be rushed so he cannot set his feet and dictate tempo from the baseline. |
| 9 | Mate Pavic (CRO) | Career Golden Slam pedigree & net coverage | Results-wise the best player of Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸’s era and the world’s best net player when his partner is rallying back; only vulnerable if frustrated early. |
| 10 | Simone Bolelli (ITA) | Pure ball-striking & classic 1-handed backhand | Flourished alongside Vavassori’s positive energy; loves 2-up, 2-back baseline exchanges, so opponents must take time away from his set feet. |
Why the ATP’s proposed 2028 doubles draw cuts miss the mark: “You cannot expect blood from a stone without marketing”
In Stage 5 of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast conversation, host Will Boucek asked Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 for his perspective on reports that the ATP Tour is considering cutting doubles draw sizes by roughly 50% at ATP 500 and Masters 1000 events starting in 2028. Having lived through the 2005 scoring overhaul (no-ad scoring and 10-point match tiebreaks) as well as recent 15s changeover trials, Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 delivered a candid critique of how the tour promotes doubles.
We have seen shortened scoring, faster changeovers, and now talk of cutting ATP 500 and Masters 1000 doubles draws in half by 2028. What is the real root problem with how the tour handles doubles?
“In all of those rule changes, there is zero effort required from the governing body—zero effort to market it, zero effort to tell fans why they should care. When Mate Pavic won the 2024 French Open to become only the 6th player in tennis history to complete the career Golden Slam, you did not hear a dang thing from the tour. Doubles is the only way tennis becomes a true team sport. If you market the partnerships, the personalities, and the team chemistry—instead of spinning doubles players as guys who could not make it in singles—fans respond every single time.”
As Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 emphasized to Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast, packed outer courts across Grand Slams and Masters 1000 venues prove the live crowd demand for doubles is already strong, and expanding Masters 1000 tournaments into 12-day, 2-week schedules makes doubles even more vital to fill stadium programming.
Post-retirement mission: Christel House India’s 25th anniversary in Bengaluru, a new Indianapolis club, and mentoring Nishesh Basavareddy 🇺🇸
Closing the interview in Stage 6 of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast, Will Boucek asked Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 what comes next now that he feels complete closure from his 2026 US Open semifinal farewell. Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 highlighted 3 pillars shaping his post-playing chapter:
- 1. Expanding Christel House Schools Across India (Bengaluru 25th Anniversary): Partnering with Indianapolis-headquartered global nonprofit Christel House (christelhouse.org), which builds and operates K–12 schools in underserved communities across India, Mexico, Jamaica, and South Africa. Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 recently traveled to Bengaluru for the 25th anniversary of Christel House India and joined discussions with government officials on opening additional schools in new Indian cities.
- 2. Building a New Tennis Club in Hometown Indianapolis: Helping launch a brand-new tennis facility in Indianapolis, with ground-breaking and construction getting underway in November.
- 3. Mentoring Nishesh Basavareddy 🇺🇸 from a “30,000-Foot View”: While he has no desire to jump right back into a 30-week travel grind as a full-time tour coach, Rajeev Ram 🇺🇸 told Will Boucek on the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast how much he enjoys his multi-year mentorship of rising American of Indian origin Nishesh Basavareddy 🇺🇸, helping guide his transition to the ATP Tour.