Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is a Pakistani former professional tennis player who specialised in doubles, born in Lahore on 17 March 1980. He is the only Pakistani ever to reach a Grand Slam final, doing so twice at the 2010 US Open — in men's doubles with India's Rohan Bopanna and in mixed doubles with Květa Peschke. ^{1 2}

He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 8 in June 2011, won 18 ATP Tour titles, is Pakistan's most successful Davis Cup player and the team's captain from 2022, has presided over the Pakistan Tennis Federation since February 2024, and retired from ATP Tour events in November 2025. ¹

Off court he is known for the 'Stop War Start Tennis' campaign he built with Bopanna, for sharing the 2010 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award with him, and for serving as a UNDP goodwill ambassador. ¹

Qureshi was born and grew up in Lahore in a Punjabi family, attended Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, and took up tennis only at 14, coached by his maternal grandfather Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, a ten-time national champion and All-India champion before Partition; his mother Nosheen Ihtsham was also a former national women's champion. He was educated at the University of Punjab. ¹

As a junior he reached world No. 7 in 1998, the highest junior ranking ever held by a Pakistani, turned professional that year and debuted in the Davis Cup; over his career he became Pakistan's most successful Davis Cup player, led the team to the World Group play-offs in 2005, and was appointed team captain in 2022. ^{1 2}

In singles he peaked at world No. 125 in December 2007, and his best Grand Slam result was the second round of Wimbledon that year. ¹

His doubles peak came in 2010, when he reached both the men's doubles final, with Bopanna, and the mixed doubles final, with Peschke, at the US Open; he reached seven further major semi-finals and qualified for the ATP Finals in doubles three times. He won the Paris Masters in 2011 with Bopanna and the Miami Open in 2013 with Jean-Julien Rojer, among his 18 tour titles. ¹

At the 2005 Islamic Solidarity Games in Mecca he represented Pakistan and won three gold medals, in singles, doubles and the team event. ¹

He became President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation in February 2024, started a talent-hunting programme for Pakistani tennis players, and retired from ATP Tour events in November 2025 while remaining a member of the Davis Cup team. ¹

His 18 ATP doubles titles are headed by the 2011 Paris Masters and the 2013 Miami Open, and his two Grand Slam finals both came at the 2010 US Open. ¹

His national records — the only Pakistani to reach a Grand Slam final, and Pakistan's most successful Davis Cup player — stand alongside national honours including the Pride of Performance (2004) and the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (2010). ¹

This section presents positions reported by the sources; it is not the museum's verdict on any of them.

His 2002 doubles partnership with the Israeli player Amir Hadad at Wimbledon and the US Open caused controversy at home: the Pakistan Tennis Federation threatened him with expulsion from the Davis Cup, and the ITF intervened to force the federation to rescind the threat. Qureshi said at the time, as the article quotes him: "I don't like religion or politics to interfere with sport." ¹

With his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna he built a peace message through tennis: the two founded the 'Stop War Start Tennis' campaign, aiming to play a match on the India–Pakistan border, shared the 2010 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award and the Peace and Sport Image of the Year award, and Qureshi joined the Champions for Peace club and was appointed a UNDP goodwill ambassador in November 2010. ¹

The sources used here name no school for Qureshi: the articles state no religion for him, and Wikidata's religion statement gives Islam generically — a single structured-data value naming no school — so the museum records no school. ^{1 3}

• The defined source entities cited above, recorded in data/source/.