Rohan Bopanna’s enduring doubles journey
In the shadow of retirement at 41, Rohan Bopanna found a spark that carried him to a Grand Slam title and the world No. 1 ranking four years later, a testament to the quiet power of persistence on the doubles circuit.
.jpg)
Rohan Bopanna’s doubles career unfolded as a masterclass in endurance, where every partnership and point built toward an improbable peak. From the verdant hills of Coorg, far removed from the tour’s bright arenas, he chased a sport that demanded more than raw power—it required a steady rhythm amid shifting surfaces and relentless travel. His path, marked by 26 tour-level titles, reached its zenith in 2024 with a hard-fought Australian Open victory alongside Matthew Ebden, capping a surge that saw him claim the PIF ATP Doubles No. 1 spot at age 43, the oldest ever to do so.
“I think my career is a story of patience, discipline and self belief,” Bopanna reflected after closing out his playing days earlier this month. “That is where it has shaped me. Yes, you have to have some kind of talent to get to a certain level, but you need to have a strong mindset. That’s where it made a massive difference, a massive switch for me going from almost quitting tennis to becoming World No. 1.”
Early inspirations fuel quiet resolve
Bopanna’s foundation formed on Coorg’s modest courts, where coffee estates overshadowed any tennis buzz and Grand Slams flickered on a single national channel. As a junior, he absorbed lessons from watching Stefan Edberg’s precise serve-volley sequences, but the real fire came from Indian pioneers who turned underdog status into global impact. Ramanathan Krishnan and his son Ramesh Krishnan blazed trails in Davis Cup clashes, using crosscourt lobs to unsettle serves on clay and grass alike.
Brothers Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj elevated the game further, their hard-court prowess relying on inside-out forehands that carved open angles in heated rallies. Later, locker-room time with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi—multiple major winners and former No. 1s—honed Bopanna’s sense of partnership, teaching him to blend poaching instincts with deep baseline drives. Teaming with Sania Mirza in mixed doubles added layers, their 2016 Olympic bronze-medal match in Rio showcasing angled volleys against power serves on bouncy hard courts.
“I was reading about all these guys doing so many great things, representing India at Davis Cup, at the Olympics and Asian Games,” Bopanna shared. “They started becoming a great inspiration for me. Both Mahesh and Leander were two guys I looked up to. I followed their journey closely. I got to pick their brain day in, day out, to figure out how I should go about my journey.”
“Sania Mirza was also somebody I came along the Tour with, and we shared a lot of great memories,” he added. “Even though I met beautiful people from across the world, just sharing this journey from somebody from your own country, I think helps you shape your journey better as well.”
Crises forge a late-career surge
Injuries tested Bopanna’s mettle early and often, starting with shoulder surgery in 2006 that kept him off the court for six months and forced a rethink of his net approaches. By 2019, knee pain from zero cartilage turned every rally into a grind, especially on the high-bouncing hard courts that define much of the tour. The 2021 season crushed him further, with post-Covid lockdowns compressing schedules and testing protocols sapping energy; he lost his first seven tour-level matches, not tasting victory until May.
At 41, the toll pushed him to confide in wife Supriya about hanging up his racquet, the constant discomfort and sparse results eroding his drive. Her words reframed the moment, casting age as a challenge rather than a limit, and ignited a tactical evolution with coach Scott Davidoff and his physio. Bopanna leaned into efficient one–two patterns at net, using underspin passes to disrupt big serves and preserve his body through smarter positioning.
“Right after Covid, when I came back and we were going through all the lockdowns and testings, that year challenged me significantly,” he recalled of 2021. “I went almost five months without winning a match. I remember speaking to my wife, and I told her, ‘I’m 41 years old, and I think it’s time to call it a day. This is how I think the journey ends.’ But then she said, ‘If you feel like calling it a day, it’s your call, but, think about it. Look at it as a new challenge, not a limitation.’ That is where I started playing my best tennis.”
This pivot powered his pairing with Ebden, whose left-handed serve created openings for Bopanna’s right-handed returns on the Australian Open‘s medium-paced Plexicushion. They built points with crosscourt exchanges before inside-in forehands wrong-footed foes, clinching the 2024 title amid the humid Melbourne air and roaring crowds. That triumph, following a 2023 US Open final loss to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury on the faster DecoTurf, highlighted his integrity when he called a ball touching his hand, a split-second decision that echoed through the packed stadium.
“I’ve always felt like doing the right thing. It was straight away my instinct to call it upon myself to say that the ball touched me,” Bopanna explained. “Being a father, you want to teach the right kind of things, not only to your own children, but to everybody around to show there are things so much bigger than just playing tennis sometimes. I’m thankful to my parents who have taught me that from a very young age. Even today, I don’t have any regrets of doing something like that. I will keep that for the rest of my life.”
Retirement opens doors to new courts
Bopanna’s record stands at 539-410 in doubles, with 15 singles wins sprinkled in from early qualifiers, a tally built on adapting slice backhands for grass and driving through clay baselines. Fatherhood brought fresh motivation, his daughter Tridha witnessing triumphs she took as routine, like when he made the final in Tokyo this year and handed her the trophy right after, the ceremony’s flash giving way to a quiet family moment. At 45, stepping away from competition feels like a serve into open space, freeing him to pour energy into the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Development Foundation, which supports 37 underprivileged children with full training, education, and boarding on Indian hard and clay setups.
“Becoming a father gave me a second wind of a career, with my daughter watching me win titles,” he said. “She came into an era where I was actually doing really well, and she thought it was normal to have these things. When I made the final in Tokyo this year, the first thing after the prize distribution, I gave her the trophy and told her, ‘This is for you’. Kids… They keep you grounded at all times.”
Looking ahead, Bopanna envisions expanding tournaments in India, crafting junior pathways that mirror tour demands, and leveraging global connections to lift the sport’s infrastructure. His humility—fierce in competition, warm off-court—defines the legacy he hopes to leave, one that inspires young players to navigate slumps with the same unyielding belief.
“Coming from a small town like Coorg to travelling all over the world, becoming World No. 1, especially at the age of 43, it’s a journey way beyond what I imagined,” Bopanna noted. “The biggest thing, I’m most grateful to each and every partner, every match, every city, and everyone who supported me over the years.”
“I stayed humble because of my tennis and it has always kept me honest and that’s what I want to be remembered for,” he concluded. “As a person who always brought a smile every time. I brought my fierce side when I was competing, but outside the tennis court, I just want to be known as someone who was humble and enjoyed the circuit, who loved to be around this great sport and all these wonderful people I met.”
“The biggest thing is that yes, I’m retiring from competing, but not from the sport. My next true mission is to help Indian tennis. I would love to use my experience and share it with the young players to help in their journey.”
