Jaidip Mukerjea Biography

Jaidip Mukerjea is one of the stalwarts who took India to great heights in the game of tennis. He was a member of the famed trio of Indian Tennis - Premjit Lal, Ramanathan Krishnan and Jaidip Mukerjea. Together they have pulled off many victories for India in the Davis Cup. Jaidip has also defeated the likes of John Newcombe, Roy Emerson, Fred Stolle and Arthur Ashe in his illustrious career. A visionary and a true genius, Jaidip Mukerjea has played multi faceted roles as a player, coach and administrator of tennis in India.

Jaidip Mukerjea was born to Aditi and Adip Mukerjea on 21st April, 1942 in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal. He is the great grandson of the freedom fighter Desabandhu Chittaranjan Das. His maternal grandfather was J. C. Mukerjea, the former president of Board of Control for Cricket in India and the founder of the Calcutta South Club for tennis. Jaidip participated in several games in school. He was compelled to quit rugby after breaking his collarbone while playing. He joined the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Tennis Coaching where he met his mentor, Dilip Bose. Under his training, Jaipdip participated in several tournaments and won trophies for the country.

Jaidap's won his first career title at the national championship in the year 1959. He reached the pre-quarter final stage of all the four Grand Slams -Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open and U.S Open. Jaidip won the Asian Championship in 1966, 1968 and 1970 and the National Championship in 1966 and 1970. As coach and non playing captain in the Davis Cup, Jaidip led the Indian team to several victories. After retirement, he set up the Himalayan Tennis Academy in Siliguri and the Jaidip Mukerjea Tennis Academy in Kolkata.

His performances have earned him a number of awards. He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1966 by the Government of India. highest The International Tennis Federation (ITF) felicitated Jaidip Mukerjea for his contribution to the game of tennis by awarding him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. He is presently the Tournament Director for the Sunfeast Open, a Tier-III women's tournament held in Kolkata every year.