Pakistan Tennis Under Scrutiny After Asian Games Campaign Ends in Heavy Defeats

Pakistan’s tennis campaign at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 has ended with a deeply disappointing return, placing renewed focus on the state of the sport, the selection process, player development and the performance of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF).

Pakistan featured in 10 matches across singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The overall outcome was one win and nine defeats, a win rate of only 10 percent. The team won two sets and lost 18. More significantly, Pakistan did not win a single set in any of its nine defeats.

The only success came in men’s doubles, where Aqeel Khan and Muhammad Shoaib defeated Mongolia’s Mandakh Davaadash and Sonompuntsag Enkhjargal 6-2, 6-0. However, the pair could not carry that momentum into the next round, losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chenjui Ho and Yu-Hsiou Hsu 6-3, 6-2 in 46 minutes.

Every other Pakistani player or pair went out without a win. In women’s singles, Ushna Suhail lost her first-round match to Kazakhstan’s Yuliya Putintseva 6-1, 6-0 in 41 minutes. Mahin Aftab Qureshi was beaten by Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes. In men’s singles, Muzammil Murtaza lost to Jordan’s Zaid Al-Mashni 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and five minutes.

Pakistan also struggled in mixed doubles. Ushna Suhail and Aqeel Khan lost their first-round match to Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-1, while Mahin Aftab Qureshi and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi were defeated by Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-5.

In men’s doubles, the pair of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Muzammil Murtaza lost to South Korea 7-5, 6-4 in a match lasting one hour and 50 minutes. In women’s doubles, Mahin Aftab Qureshi and Ushna Suhail were beaten by Mongolia 6-1, 6-0 in 48 minutes. Muhammad Shoaib, after receiving a second-round singles match, lost to Indonesia’s M. Rifqi Fitriadi 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and eight minutes before later teaming up with Aqeel Khan in the second-round defeat to Chinese Taipei.

The numbers from the campaign are severe. In the nine defeats, Pakistan lost 18 sets and failed to win even one. Five of those sets ended 6-1, while two ended 6-0. In seven of the 18 lost sets, Pakistani players managed either one game or none at all.

The Asian Games results have come at a difficult time for Pakistan tennis. Only days before the event, Pakistan suffered a 3-0 defeat against Tunisia in the Davis Cup World Group II tie. Muhammad Shoaib lost to Aziz Dougaz 6-2, 6-3 in 55 minutes, Muzammil Murtaza was beaten by Moez Echargui 6-1, 6-1 in 56 minutes, and the doubles team of Mohammad Abid Ali Khan Akbar and Murtaza lost 6-3, 6-3. The reverse singles were not played after Tunisia had already secured the tie.

Taken together, the Davis Cup and Asian Games results have strengthened the debate over whether Pakistan men’s tennis is producing enough players capable of competing at international level.

A major part of the discussion revolves around the continued role of senior players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan. Both have served Pakistan tennis for many years and their contributions are widely recognised. However, the question before the sport is no longer about their past service. The issue is whether the national programme can keep relying on the same generation without preparing strong replacements.

Aqeel Khan, born in 1980, was 46 during the 2026 Asian Games. Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, also born in 1980, was also 46. Aisam had formally announced his retirement from professional tennis in November 2025 at the inaugural ATP Challenger Pakistan, with the PTF describing the moment as the end of an era. Less than a year later, he returned to represent Pakistan at the Asian Games.

Before the Asian Games, Aisam told news media that he was unfit to play the Davis Cup tie against Tunisia. Soon afterwards, he confirmed that he considered himself fit and would compete in men’s doubles while continuing his duties as PTF president. That situation has led to questions about the separation between federation leadership and playing responsibilities.

Aisam was elected PTF president in February 2024 for a four-year term with a one controversial vote. The Asian Games squad announced by the federation included Aisam, Aqeel, Muzammil Murtaza, Muhammad Shoaib, Ushna Suhail and Mahin Aftab Qureshi.

The concern is not only that experienced players were selected. The wider issue is whether major international events should continue to extend the careers of ageing veterans or provide younger players with exposure against stronger opposition. The Davis Cup situation made that question more prominent, as Aisam missed the Tunisia tie due to injury but returned for the Asian Games after stating that he was fit to compete.

His Asian Games campaign included a 7-5, 6-4 men’s doubles defeat with Muzammil Murtaza against South Korea and a mixed doubles defeat with Mahin Aftab Qureshi against Kazakhstan. These results do not prove that he was medically unfit. However, they do provide grounds for discussion about selection, fitness, readiness, age and the role of a federation president who is also part of the national playing squad.

A similar debate surrounds Aqeel Khan. His long service and place in Pakistan’s Davis Cup history are well known, but his continued presence at major international tournaments raises the question of whether younger players are being given enough responsibility and exposure.

Pakistan’s women’s results offered little comfort. Ushna Suhail did not progress in women’s singles, women’s doubles or mixed doubles. According to biographical records, Ushna is a cousin of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and was part of Pakistan’s six-member Asian Games tennis squad. That relationship alone does not establish that her selection was improper. However, after first-round defeats in all three events, the selection criteria are likely to come under scrutiny.

The broader problem is not limited to individual players. The responsibility for building a competitive system rests with the federation. A strong national tennis structure should continue producing players capable of replacing established names. Emerging players require regular international tournaments, structured training camps, experienced coaching, physical preparation and financial backing to compete on the ITF circuit.

Without that pathway, Pakistan risks depending on the same small group of players for years without developing a genuine next generation.

There is also concern over preparation. Pakistan’s stronger tennis generations were linked with regular competition, training camps and sustained international exposure. Critics now question whether the same level of groundwork is being done, especially when set against the focus on announcements, photographs and social-media publicity.

The Asian Games statistics should trigger a serious conversation. Ten matches, one win, nine defeats, two sets won and 18 sets lost. Pakistan did not win a set in any of its nine defeats. Five sets were lost 6-1 and two were lost 6-0. This is not just a poor tournament; it is a warning sign.

The timing makes the situation even more pressing. Pakistan has gone from a 3-0 Davis Cup defeat against Tunisia to an Asian Games campaign in which it won only one out of 10 matches.

The response cannot be limited to another social-media post celebrating participation. Pakistan tennis needs a clear player-development plan, transparent selection criteria, regular international competition for emerging players and a serious succession strategy for the generation that has carried the country for decades.

The PTF leadership has repeatedly spoken about developing players and taking the sport forward. Aisam himself said after being elected president in 2024 that he wanted to work for the betterment of players, coaches and trainers and take Pakistan tennis to new heights. The results at the Asian Games now offer a measurable test of that ambition.

The question is not whether Pakistan has tennis talent. The more important question is whether the system is giving that talent sufficient chances to grow.

For Pakistan tennis, the 2026 Asian Games should become a turning point rather than another episode followed by routine explanations. The country needs a structure that prepares the next generation to take over, instead of repeatedly returning to the previous generation because the next one has not been adequately developed. If the same pattern continues, Pakistan’s biggest loss may not be individual matches, but an entire generation of potential players.