‘Bofors’ Bopanna walks into sunset
New Delhi: Level 45 tennis legend Rohan Bopanna walks into the sunset, leaving behind a treasure trove of memories. On Saturday, Bopanna sprang a surprise of sorts, having pushed hard over the last few years of his professional tennis career against all odds.
In a recent chat with Millennium Post in October, Bopanna said, “Each year at this time I contemplate whether I should continue with tennis or not. I guess I will take a call and you will know.” The tall and strapping Coorgi commanded respect from the global tennis fraternity.
This generation may know him as a doubles star, but when Bopanna burst onto the scene at the Nationals on grass in December 1997 in Duliajan, Assam, he was all fire and power. His serve was devastating then, as he shocked rising star Vikrant Chaddha. Not only did opponents fear Bopanna, but even the worms and insects below the grass surface might have been scared. His sonic serve came naturally and, for someone just 18 at the time, he looked intimidating. Raw at first and later blossoming into a complete player, Rohan Bopanna’s career had two phases — singles and doubles. How he reinvented himself and kept pushing despite injuries remains a lesson for athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.
His knees had given way long ago, yet through his practice of Iyengar yoga and relentless work on stretching and strengthening, Bopanna persevered. He has often said that without a travelling physio, he “would be dead.” And while many consider Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi India’s greatest doubles pair, Bopanna too is a legend. The only missing piece from his cabinet is an Olympic medal — one that was within reach at the 2016 Rio Olympics when he and Sania Mirza lost the bronze medal playoff. It still hurts even today for both Bopanna and Sania.
As an ambassador for India, Rohan Bopanna has been a class act — a gentleman who was never rude and who retained a devoted fan following. Even before retiring, he began mentoring young doubles players in India, holding camps and covering all expenses for the last five years.
His farewell statement on Saturday was heartfelt: “A goodbye. But not the end. How do you bid farewell to something that gave your life meaning? After 20 unforgettable years on tour, however, it’s time. I’m officially hanging up my racquet,” Bopanna wrote in his post.
Indeed, it is emotional for Bopanna to leave the sport he loves. Life was never easy for him, as he played during the era of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi—the pair who styled themselves the ‘Indian Express’ and were India’s best for a long time. Yet when tough decisions had to be made, Mahesh Bhupathi chose to team up with Bopanna before the 2012 London Olympics. That decision sparked controversy, but the two complemented each other well.
Having played with multiple partners in doubles, Bopanna had an outstanding year in 2024 with Matthew Ebden. In 2025, he struggled to find a regular partner but kept pushing. “It’s not easy for me, given my knees are minus cartilage. I guess Iyengar yoga worked for me. I’m extremely happy my wife, Supriya and daughter travelled with me this year,” Bopanna said last month. There was a clear hint that constant travel and high-intensity play were taking their toll.
He bows out on a high, leaving behind memories that go beyond records. Mentorship came naturally to him as he encouraged juniors. He began winding down from tennis with his Davis Cup farewell in 2023 in Lucknow and later won mixed doubles gold with Rutuja Bhosale at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Bopanna was disappointed by his short campaign and subsequently declared it his last Olympics. The year 2025 was a reflective one for the Coorgi, who runs the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA) on the outskirts of Bengaluru, as he pursued his dream of nurturing India’s next generation of players.
Less than a fortnight ago, Bopanna told this writer he would be partnering with the UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT), powered by Universal Tennis, a company indirectly backed by Roger Federer’s group. “I can assure you, next year this tour will be really good for Indian players,” he said.
No narrative on Rohan Bopanna is complete without mentioning his mixed doubles exploits. To say Bopanna was “sought after” is no exaggeration. His style and personality made him a favourite on the circuit. In 2017, he won the French Open mixed doubles title with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, becoming a major success. His most painful Grand Slam loss came in January 2023 in Melbourne, where his campaign with Sania Mirza ended against Brazil’s Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos.
The veteran’s resilience shone brighter with time. In 2023, partnering with Matthew Ebden, Bopanna lifted the Indian Wells Masters trophy, scripting history as the oldest ATP Masters champion at 43. A year later, the same partnership brought him his maiden men’s doubles Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open, a career-defining triumph that also saw him rise to the summit as the oldest world No 1 in doubles.
The legacy and memories Rohan Bopanna leaves behind are monumental.
