When Akshay Kumar tried to outshine Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic by doing handstands, recalls Riteish Deshmukh: ‘Leave tennis, ye karke dikha’ | Bollywood News
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 4, 2026 06:05 PM IST
Actor Riteish Deshmukh recently sat down with tennis trailblazer Sania Mirza, and the conversation went back to 2014, when Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic visited India for the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). The visit was a blend of Grand Slam intensity and Bollywood glamour.
Riteish called it an “incredible moment” and remembered how Akshay Kumar did a handstand to impress Federer. He said on Serving With Sania, “It was an incredible moment. We all went by bus to a farmhouse. To have tennis legends all around and Aamir played tennis that day. Akshay and I were just pretending to show off, I was flashing my pickleball skills, while Akshay was busy doing handstands, teasing, ‘Jo Roger nahi kar sakta, arey tu kya tennis khelega, ye karke dikha’.”
As part of the IPTL, a team-based league designed to bring tennis closer to fans, Federer and Djokovic became the main attraction of the sporting carnival that went beyond the court. Their presence turned the Indian leg of the league into a cultural spectacle, drawing in not just tennis fans but film lovers as well.
When Federer played with Deepika Padukone, Aamir Khan
At the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the boundaries between sport and entertainment blurred. Federer and fellow tennis great Novak Djokovic were joined on court by Bollywood stars including Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, and Riteish Deshmukh.
deepika padukone with roger federer during the international premier tennis league pic.twitter.com/ZcOVtu6wVR
— moony (@mischievouswolf) June 17, 2022
Deepika Padukone teamed up with Federer in a mixed doubles exhibition against Novak Djokovic and Sania Mirza.
In another fan-favourite appearance, Aamir Khan partnered Federer in a short doubles match against Mirza and Djokovic. While the actor struggled to find consistency on serve, the two tennis legends humorously adjusted their positions to help him get the ball.
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Federer posts photo with a naan
Off the court, Federer embraced Indian culture, he tweeted a photo with a giant traditional naan and was later seen learning Bollywood dance from Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone during a star-studded gala.
Got naan? pic.twitter.com/Uoxex0CUnq
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) December 8, 2014
About Sania Mirza’s podcast
Riteish was joined by his wife, actor Genelia Deshmukh, for the conversation with Sania Mirza, where the couple spoke candidly about their relationship, their dating years, and their individual career journeys.
Serving with Sania features Sania Mirza in candid conversations with celebrities, where they open up about unfiltered stories, laugh-out-loud moments, and refreshingly views on life, fame, parenthood. The podcast has previously hosted guests such as Farah Khan, Zakir Khan, and Yuvraj Singh.
