"There is no girl ranked high enough in WTA doubles to qualify" - Rohan Bopanna confirms he will miss mixed doubles at Paris Olympics
Newly-crowned Australian Open men's doubles champion Rohan Bopanna has confirmed that he won't be participating in the mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics later this year. Bopanna also said the hunt for a suitable partner for men's doubles would go on in the meantime.
The second-seeded pair of Bopanna and Matthew Ebden beat the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavasoori 7-6(0), 7-5 on Saturday at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Bopanna became the oldest male player to win a Grand Slam title, and it was also his maiden men's doubles Major.
Rohan Bopanna, who won a gold medal at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou alongside Rutuja Bhosale, won't be able to compete for the mixed doubles event because of ITF's qualification requirement.
A total of 15 direct entries are awarded to the highest-ranked teams based on the combined rankings. India's top-ranked women's doubles player is Prarthana Thombare. With her current ranking of 166, it would be difficult for her to make the cut before June 10, 2024.
Replying to Sportskeeda's query at a press conference following his Australian Open triumph in Melbourne, Rohan Bopanna spoke about his chances of contesting in the quadrennial event. The 43-year-old said:
"Definitely, it’s going to be great that we have a representation in the men’s doubles. Who I’m going to play with is yet to be confirmed. June is the deadline, so I need to pick a partner. Mixed doubles will not happen because there is no girl ranked high enough to qualify. The only event currently guaranteed is men’s doubles."
He added:
"The French Open won’t make any difference in terms of preparing for the Olympics because I will be playing with Matt Ebden at the French Open. I won’t be playing with an Indian partner. After that whoever I play with, I just need to try and hope we get at least one or two tournaments."
Yuki Bhambri (61), N Sriram Balaji (79), Vijay Sundar Prashanth (83) and Anirudh Chandrasekar (87) are some of the probables who could pair up with Bopanna in men's doubles at Paris.
Bopanna urged his compatriots to improve their ranking in the coming months for him to have better clarity on whom to select as a partner and which tournaments to play in the build-up to the Olympics.
"Currently, the guys are ranked around 60-70, which is tough for them to get a 500 or 1000 (ATP events). Hoping that they improve their rankings so we can get one or two events just before the Olympics. Having said that, just need to figure out who I’m going to be playing with."
"This is the best moment of my tennis journey" - Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna played his first Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 2006, where he couldn't progress from the qualifying round. The player from Coorg has been a regular participant across all four Grand Slam events since then, especially in men's doubles.
During the same press conference, Bopanna explained how men's doubles became his focus ever since he paired with Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in 2004. Their partnership was fondly called 'Indo-Pak Express.'
"When I was playing with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, we decided to focus on doubles and make it a career. Men’s doubles was the target without a doubt. Of course, along with that came the way in 2017 with (Gabriela) Dabrowski when I won the mixed doubles (French Open). This was always a dream to win a men’s doubles. Without a doubt, this is the best moment of my tennis journey," the 43-year-old said.
Rohan Bopanna was assured of the World No. 1 ranking after he and Mathew Ebden qualified for the semi-finals of the Australian Open. During the Indo-Australian pair's first round against local boys James Duckworth and Marc Polmans, the Indian star registered his 500th tour-level career win. Bopanna was recently named among the 110 recipients of the Padma Shri Award, the fourth-highest civilian award in India.
"It’s been an incredible week. Not very often or never in my career during the tournament I was overwhelmed with so many wonderful messages. Of course, after yesterday it’s been magical. I’m looking forward to coming back home and celebrating with each and everyone," the 43-year-old said.
Rohan Bopanna will next play in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship scheduled between February 24 and March 2.