Rohan Bopanna's top five performances representing India ft. Rio Olympics run with Sania Mirza
Rohan Bopanna’s 2024 Paris Olympics campaign came to an early end after he and his partner Sriram Balaji lost their opening match. The duo went down against home favorites Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-2 on Monday, July 29.
Bopanna, who reached the doubles World No.1 ranking earlier this year, had announced that the Paris Olympics will be his last tournament donning the Indian jersey.
With the 44-year-old legend drawing curtains on an illustrious career, it makes for the perfect time to look back at some of his best performances. Here, we take a look at Rohan Bopanna's top five performances for India.
#5 2022 Davis Cup World Group 1 qualification
Rohan Bopanna played his first Davis Cup tie all the way back in 2003 when India took on Japan in the Asia-Oceania Group I. Over the years, he became a clinical part of the team, playing 50 matches for a 23-27 win-loss overall.
One of his biggest victories came at the 2022 Davis Cup. India was playing host to Denmark in the World Group I playoffs, needing a win to be upgraded.
Bopanna led the Indian side to a 4-0 whitewash, partnering Divij Sharan to beat former Wimbledon champions Frederik Nielsen and Mikael Torpegaard to seal the tie. The win ensured that India was upgraded to the World Group I, a major achievement for Indian tennis.
#4 2022 Asian Games mixed doubles Gold
Rohan Bopanna was already an Asian Games gold medallist, albeit in men’s doubles, when he entered the 2022 Games in Hangzhou.
Partnering Rutuja Bhosale, he would go on to secure the gold medal once again. What set this triumph apart from the 2018 Incheon men’s doubles heroics was the fact that he and Rutuja were a scratch pairing.
In Incheon, Bopanna and Sharan were the top seeds and had already played together. He and Rutuja, however, had none of it, but that did not stop them from taking out the likes of Liang En-shuo and Huang Tsung-hao, Ayano Shimizu and Shinji Hazawa, and Chan Hao-ching and Hsu Yu-hsiou to get a famous win.
#3 Rohan Bopanna clinches World No. 1 doubles ranking
While tennis is a professional sport, some achievements are celebrated with vigour back home. And such was the case when Rohan Bopanna, for the first time in his career, became the World No. 1 in the ATP rankings for men’s doubles in January this year.
He became the oldest man to rise to the top of the leaderboard after winning the 2024 Australian Open alongside Matt Ebden.
Years of hard work and hours on the court were finally rewarded as he joined his compatriots Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, and Sania Mirza to be ranked as the World No. 1.
#2 Asian Hopman Cup title
All those years before the Grand Slam and Tour success, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza were just young talents to watch out for.
In 2006, the duo were selected to represent India at the Asian Hopman Cup, the qualifier for the bigger mixed team event of the Hopman Cup. Bopanna and Mirza combined to play both singles and mixed doubles, coming out on top of the field to qualify for the Hopman Cup.
The duo would fly the Indian flag high at the 2007 Hopman Cup, beating bigwigs like the Czech Republic and Croatia, only to miss out on the finals by a whisker.
#1 Rio Olympics run with Sania Mirza
Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza have shared a close friendship, which has translated to success on the court. It is thus befitting to end the list with one of India's greatest tennis runs at the Olympics, possibly second only to Leander Paes’ 1996 bronze in Atlanta.
The duo had come into the 2016 Rio Olympics in great form, with Sania even being the World No. 1 in the lead-up. Seeded fourth, they played some great matches against legends such as Andy Murray and Samantha Stosur to make the semifinals.
Bopanna and Mirza faltered despite leading Venus Williams and Rajiv Ram, and were forced to play the bronze medal match against Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek. They fought but it was not enough as they were denied a medal for the second consecutive match.
Victories are remembered for long, but it’s also the big losses and how one bounces back that define a player’s character. And Rohan Boppana’s story since 2016 has been nothing short of triumphant.