Rohan Bopanna’s career can be summed up in three words: patience, discipline and self-confidence.
They’re simple qualities, but the weight of that sentence only becomes clear when he describes how close he came to leaving the sport in 2021. Instead, a change in mindset – sparked by a conversation with his wife Supriya – paved the way for his 2024 Australian Open title with Matthew Ebden and his rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings at age 43, the oldest man to achieve that goal.
“I think my career is a story of patience, discipline and self-confidence,” Bopanna told ATPTour.com after ending his playing career earlier this month. “That’s where it shaped me. Yes, you have to have a certain talent to reach a certain level, but you also have to have a strong mentality. That’s where it made a huge difference, a huge transition for me, from almost quitting tennis to becoming No. 1 in the world.”
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden win the 2024 Australian Open doubles title. Photo: David Gray/Getty Images.
Bopanna has amassed 26 tour-level doubles titles in his career, but his story began far from the global centers of the sport. The Indian grew up in Coorg, a hilly area of Karnataka known for its coffee plantations and gentle rhythms rather than tennis academies.
With only one national TV channel broadcasting Grand Slam tournaments, the professional game felt far away. But as his skills grew, so did his connection to the wider tennis world, and it became the platform for his transition from cracked tennis courts to the top of the ATP Tour.
“For me to travel from a small town like Coorg across the world and become world number 1, especially at the age of 43, is a journey far beyond what I imagined,” said Bopanna. “Most importantly, I am extremely grateful to every partner, every competition, every city and everyone who has supported me over the years.”
As a junior, Bopanna’s tennis training came partly from watching ATP No. 1 Club member Stefan Edberg, but even more from stories of the Indian greats who paved the way. Ramanathan Krishnan and his son Ramesh Krishnan were pioneers. Vijay Amritraj and brother Anand Amritraj were Davis Cup stalwarts who took Indian tennis to the world stage.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi became multiple major champions and former world No. 1 doubles, redefining what Indian players could achieve. When Bopanna eventually shared the Davis Cup dressing room with Paes and Bhupathi, those examples became living lessons in professionalism and partnership. He also found strength and camaraderie alongside Sania Mirza, with whom he reached the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open in 2023.
“I read about all these guys doing so many great things, representing India at the Davis Cup, at the Olympics and the Asian Games,” Bopanna said of those early role models. “They started to become a big inspiration for me. Both Mahesh and Leander were two guys I looked up to. I followed their journey closely. I had to pick their brains day in and day out to figure out how to approach my journey.
“Sania Mirza was also someone I went on the Tour with, and we shared many wonderful memories. While I met wonderful people from all over the world, I think sharing this journey of someone from your own country also helps you better shape your journey.”
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in the bronze medal match at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images.
Yet Bopanna’s rise was not without difficult periods. In 2006, he underwent shoulder surgery that sidelined him for six months, and later in his career he struggled with painful knee problems. In 2019, he discovered he had no cartilage left, leaving him in constant discomfort and struggling to get into shape.
After a tough period in 2021, in which he lost his first seven matches at tour level and recorded his first win of the year in May, the then 41-year-old was closer than ever to retirement.
“Right after Covid, when I came back and we were going through all the lockdowns and testing, that year challenged me significantly,” Bopanna said of the 2021 season. “I didn’t win a match for almost five months. I remember talking to my wife and telling her, ‘I’m 41 years old and I think it’s time to end it. This is how I think the journey ends.’
“But then she said, ‘If you feel like ending it, it’s your decision, but think about it. See it as a new challenge, not a limitation.’ That’s where I started playing my best tennis.”
That conversation became the hinge on which his career turned. Bopanna embraced a new approach, anchored by the people around him – his wife, longtime coach Scott Davidoff, his physio and his partners – which provided the foundation for a remarkable late surge.
Rohan Bopanna celebrates with his wife Supriya and daughter Tridha at the 2024 Australian Open. Photo: William West/Getty Images.
Bopanna’s renaissance, culminating in the 2024 Australian Open title with Matthew Ebden, was accompanied by the integrity that defined his career. In the 2023 US Open final, during his and Ebden’s loss to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, Bopanna admitted a ball had brushed his hand in a moment of instinctive sportsmanship that resonated with fans and colleagues.
“I always felt like I wanted to do the right thing. It was immediately my instinct to call myself out to say the ball hit me,” Bopanna said. “As a father you want to teach the right things, not only to your own children, but to everyone around you to show that there are things that are so much bigger than just playing tennis sometimes.
“I’m grateful to my parents who taught me that from a very young age. Even today, I don’t regret doing something like that. I will do that for the rest of my life.”
Bopanna posted a career record of 539-410 in doubles and 15 wins in singles, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, but retirement won’t take him out of the sport. Through the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Development Foundation, he currently supports 37 underprivileged schoolchildren with education, board and lodging and tennis training.
Now 45 years old, Bopanna wants to help create more tournaments in India, build better pathways for juniors and use the relationships he has built around the world to reshape Indian tennis. For the first time in twenty years, he will also spend more time at home with his loved ones.
“Becoming a father gave me a second wind in my career, with my daughter watching me win titles,” Bopanna said about his daughter Tridha. “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 it to the final in Tokyo this year, the first after the awards ceremony, I gave her the trophy and told her, ‘This is for you.’ Kids… They keep you grounded at all times.
“The most important thing is that I am retiring, but not from the sport. My next real mission is to help Indian tennis. I would like to take my experience and share it with the young players to help them in their journey.”
Looking back on a career full of success, Bopanna hopes his legacy reflects not only the trophies he collected, but also the person he always was.
“I have remained humble because of my tennis and it has always kept me honest and that is why I want to be remembered,” Bopanna said. “As someone who always brought a smile. I brought out my fierce side when I competed, but off the tennis court I just want to be known as someone who was humble and enjoyed the track, who loved being around this great sport and all these great people I met.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
#Rohan #Bopanna #retires #quitting #tennis #number #world