ATP Tour

Rohan Bopanna retires: ‘I went from almost quitting tennis to becoming World No. 1’

Rohan Bopanna’s career can be distilled into three words: patience, discipline, and self belief.

They are simple qualities, but the weight of that sentence becomes clear only when he describes how close he came to leaving the sport altogether in 2021. Instead, a shift 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 43, the oldest man to hit that mark.

“I think my career is a story of patience, discipline and self belief,” Bopanna told ATPTour.com after bringing his playing career to a close 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.”

_{^{Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden win the 2024 Australian Open doubles title. Photo: David Gray/Getty Images.}} 

Bopanna amassed 26 tour-level doubles titles across his career, but his story began far from the sport’s global hubs. The Indian grew up in Coorg, a hilly region of Karnataka known for its coffee estates and quiet rhythms rather than tennis academies.

With only one national TV channel broadcasting Grand Slam tournaments, the professional game felt remote. Yet as his ability grew, so did his connection to the wider tennis world, and it became the platform for his transition from cracked courts to the top of the ATP Tour.

“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,” said Bopanna. “The biggest thing, I’m most grateful to each and every partner, every match, every city, and everyone who supported me over the years.”

As a junior, Bopanna’s tennis education 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 trailblazers. Vijay Amritraj and brother Anand Amritraj were Davis Cup stalwarts who carried Indian tennis onto the global stage.

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi became multiple major champions and former World No. 1s in doubles, redefining what Indian players could achieve. When Bopanna eventually shared the Davis Cup locker room with Paes and Bhupathi, those examples became lived lessons in professionalism and partnership. He also found strength and camaraderie alongside Sania Mirza, with whom he reached the 2023 Australian Open mixed doubles final.

“I was reading about all these guys doing so many great things, representing India at Davis Cup, at the Olympics and Asian Games,” Bopanna said of those early role models. “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. 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.”

_{^{Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in the bronze-medal match at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images.}}

Yet Bopanna’s rise did not come without difficult stretches. In 2006, he had shoulder surgery that sidelined him for six months, and later in his career he battled painful knee issues. In 2019, he learned he had no cartilage left, leaving him in constant discomfort and struggling for form.

After a punishing stretch in 2021, during which he lost his opening seven tour-level matches and recorded his first win of the year in May, the then-41-year-old found himself closer than ever to retirement.

“Right after Covid, when I came back and we were going through all the lockdowns and testings, that year challenged me significantly,”Bopanna said of the 2021 season. “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.”

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 — forming 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, highlighted by the 2024 Australian Open title with Matthew Ebden, was matched 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 that a ball had brushed his hand in a moment of instinctive sportsmanship that resonated with fans and peers.

“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 said. “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.”

Bopanna posted a 539-410 career record in doubles and earned 15 singles wins, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, but retirement will not take him away from the sport. Through the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Development Foundation, he currently supports 37 underprivileged schoolchildren with education, boarding, 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 formed around the world to reshape Indian tennis. For the first time in two decades, he will also spend more time at home with his loved ones.

“Becoming a father gave me a second wind of a career, with my daughter watching me win titles,” Bopanna said of 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 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.

“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.”

Looking back on a career filled with success, Bopanna hopes his legacy reflects not only the trophies he collected but the person he was throughout.

“I stayed humble because of my tennis and it has always kept me honest and that's what I want to be remembered for,” Bopanna said. “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.”