Donald Rutnam competed in the 1924 tennis doubles, losing in the quarter-finals. He played at Wimbledon six times between 1922-38. Rutnam attended college at Royal College Colombo where he captained the college cricket team, and played first-class cricket in India for the Central provinces and Berar team from 1934-41. He later became an Indian civil servant and was Deputy Commissioner for the Central Provinces and Berar. For his services to the Empire, Rutnam was awarded an OBE in the 1941 New Year’s Honours List.