Former doubles World No. 1 Rajeev Ram played the final match of his career Thursday at the US Open. Sixth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz defeated three-time Flushing Meadows winners Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final in New York.
USTA CEO Craig Tiley, Ram’s college coach at the University of Illinois, and US Open Tournament Director Eric Butorac, Ram’s former doubles partner, paid tribute to the American’s career with an emotional ceremony after the match.
“Honestly, it couldn't be better. I know we've won the title and we've played on Ashe and for the final, but we've had some of our absolute most epic matches on that court, at Louis Armstrong,” Ram said. “So first of all, it's at this tournament, it’s on that court. [Joe] was there. If you saw the poster that they made, more than half the pictures had him in it. So the whole thing, to me, it couldn't have been any better.
“My family was there, my wife, my mom, my college coach was there. My former partner in Eric Butorac was there. Now he's the tournament director. My longstanding partner that I've had so many good memories with was there with me. We had a good run here. I don't know, I was pretty lucky to have it be like that for me.”
Ram and Salisbury, who won the US Open each year from 2021 through 2023, made another deep run at the season’s final major. But they fell short against the Germans, the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals champions.
“Mixed emotions. Obviously kind of crazy that is going to be my last professional tennis match,” Ram said. “I would say it brings up some sadness, but also some relief in some way. You’re not worried about, ‘Gee how am I going to wake up feeling today? And I have to go work on this, I have to go get this just right'. So I think there are a lot of things.”
Krawietz and Puetz will face reigning Australian Open champions Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski for the trophy. The fifth seeds ousted top seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 7-6(4), 6-2.
The two teams vying for the championship have not played one another since Adelaide in January. Krawietz and Puetz were victorious 6-3, 2-6, 10-5.
Visit ATPTour.com next week for a tribute to Ram and his reflections on his career.
© Copyright 1994 - 2026 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Community Social Media Policy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies | Your Privacy Choices 
