He turned pro in 1995.   He teamed with Ali Hamadeh in 1995 to win the NCAA doubles title and finished as the No. 1 player in doubles and No. 3 in singles. He was India's national champion in 1994 and 1995 and a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 1995 and represents India in Davis Cup Singles and Doubles. He won a Silver and 3 Gold medals at the SAF Games, represented India at the Atlanta Olympics - 1996, took India to the Quarter Finals of the Elite World Group in Davis Cup along with Leander Paes. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam when he took the mixed doubles French Open along with Japan's Rika Hiraki.

Bhupathi's partnership with Leander Paes formed a doubles 'dream' team which took Indian tennis to heights of glory. Their first major victory was at the 1997 ATP Gold Flake Open Tennis tournament at Chennai. They made it a hat-trick of triumphs by winning the Gold Flake open titles during 1998 and 1999. The duo captured six ATP doubles titles in seven finals and qualified for ATP World doubles Championship losing to Leach-Stark in final. In 1999, they showed their class by winning the French Open and Wimbledon and entering the finals of the two other Grand Slam Tournaments; the Australian and US Opens and became the first team since 1952 to reach the final of all four Grand Slam events in the same year. They also won the doubles title at Rolland Garros in 1999. But, as soon after they started dominating the World Tennis scene, the world top ranked pair separated due to mutual misunderstanding. Fortunately they came back together again after a gap of eight months, in time for the Sydney Olympics and started regaining their lost prestige at the end of 2000, winning the Men's Double title in Japan Open 2000 followed by Worlds Doubles Championship in Bangalore and in 2001 Verizon Atlanta Challenge, US Clay court Championship in Houston and at Roland Garros defeating the Czech pair of Petr Pala and Pavel Vizner, ranked no. 2 in the world.

Mahesh has won five doubles titles in 2002, with four different partners. Won titles in Chennai and Mallorca with Paes, captured TMS title in Hamburg with Gambill and in Long Island with M. Bryan, and the US Open with current partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus who teamed with him most of the year. In 2003, he won the TMS title in Monte Carlo and in Estoril.

He received the ' Arjuna Award' in 1996 and India's highest honour 'Padma Shri' along with Paes on March 26, 2001.  His father, the encouraging factor behind him runs 'The Tennis Village' at Bangalore, giving training to aspirants. Bhupathi residing in Bangalore got married on November 24th 2002 to a Chennai model girl Shwetha Jaishankar. This talented player keeps winning titles and making India proud.