Akhtar Ali – the name is as much synonymous with tennis in India as it is with giving back to the game and also to the community at large.
Rising from humble background, Ali — Akhtar Sir to generations of tennis players including luminaries like Leander Paes and Sania Mirza — became a one-stop guide, coach, mentor to hundreds of students who learnt the game.
A national tennis and squash champion, a regular on the Indian Davis Cup team from 1958 to 1964, a national and Davis Cup coach for decades, Ali found his calling in teaching the game. And more often than not, he was seen training youngsters, trying to find rough uncut diamonds like Leander and his son Zeeshan Ali.
For years, he organised the Akhtar Ali Junior Tennis Super Series, mostly held at the South Club. As the tournament director he was not only always present to motivate the kids, he also involved his family members to take the tournament forward.
“When Covid-19 struck, Papa was planning the 20th edition of the tournament. But it naturally could not be held. But he always used to tell me to keep the tournament alive,” Nilofer Ali, his daughter, told The Telegraph.
“After his death, in 2021, we wanted to keep his legacy alive and thus the idea of the foundation was born,” she added.
“When he passed away in February 2021, we as a family tried to revive the tournament and this year, with the help of the Bengal Tennis Association, we could do it.”
And that is when the Akhtar Ali Foundation took shape, with Nilofer as the chairperson and co-founder of the Akhtar Ali Foundation.
The Akhtar Ali Foundation Super Series Junior Tennis Tournament, under the aegis of BTA and AITA, was held at the BTA Complex in the last week of October.
“With the Akhtar Ali Foundation, we are committed to building a stronger tennis ecosystem in India. We’re planning tournaments and training camps for beginners, intermediates, and advanced players, ensuring that every athlete has a platform to progress.
“We also aim to identify young talent early and have them mentored by the likes of Zeeshan Ali, giving promising players direct access to world-class expertise,” said Jaffer Javed, Ali’s grandson and the founder of the foundation. Marium Javed, Ali’s granddaughter (general secretary) and Javed Akhter (treasurer, Nilofer’s husband) are also deeply involved with the foundation.
“A key part of our mission is to bring world-class tennis clinics to Calcutta. Bengal has always had exceptional talent, but young players often lack exposure to international-level coaching — resulting in athletes who dominate the junior and domestic circuits but then disappear on the professional stage. We want to change that,” Jaffer said.
While the junior tournament will be a part of their annual activities, the family wants to take bigger steps ahead.
“We will naturally take the guidance from Zeeshan and utilise his expertise as a Davis Cupper and a national coach. In the near future, we plan to establish a full-fledged tennis academy, providing structured coaching, exposure, and long-term development,” Jaffer added.
“Our ultimate goal is to carry forward Akhtar Ali’s vision — to make India an Olympic tennis firepower and nurture the next generation of champions.”
Zeeshan, too, is enthusiastic about carrying forward his father’s legacy. “He was always willing to help youngsters who were keen on the game, no matter what social background they came from. I don’t live in Calcutta now, but I will naturally be involved and help as much as I can to help the foundation reach its goals,” he said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the tournament.
The foundation will also try and help to develop sports other than tennis in the future and be a rock solid support system for sportspersons of the state.
