Leander Paes, 49, believes Indian tennis is going through a rough patch, and insists it will be another seven to eight years at least till the country produces the next Grand Slam champion. 

“After the retirement of our Grand Slam champions in India, we’ve seen a bit of a lull, but the number of kids playing tennis has grown a lot. I think a Tennis Premier League [TPL] is a front-runner in encouraging that. But still, it will take a good seven to eight years to build champions again at the Grand Slam level,” Paes told mid-day on the sidelines of the launch of his new TPL team Bengal Wizards on Monday. The fifth edition of the TPL will be played in Mumbai and Pune in December.