Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna, oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in Open era, announces retirement 

Following a period of speculation surrounding his future, Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna has formally announced his retirement from the game. Bopanna, whose remarkable career spanned two decades, rose to be the oldest first-time highest-ranked men's doubles player following a triumphant 2024 Australian Open campaign partnering Matthew Ebden.

Bopanna has been a men's doubles finalist at the US Open in 2010 and 2023, while also being a three-time semifinalist at Wimbledon and a two-time semifinalist at the French Open.

The Bangalore-born Coorgi player has a career doubles win-loss record of 539-409, having won a total of 26 career titles after turning professional in 2003.

Rohan Bopanna won his maiden Grand Slam title in mixed doubles at the 2017 French Open alongside Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada. Interestingly, Bopanna's compatriot, Leander Paes, was the defending champion at Roland Garros that year, having won the 2016 mixed doubles title partnering Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

Bopanna became the oldest man to win a Grand Slam title at the age of 43. Bopanna and his Australian partner, Matthew Ebden, defeated the Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the men's doubles final of the 2024 Australian Open.

Among Rohan Bopanna's many doubles partners were Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, Mahesh Bhupathi of India, Ivan Dodig of Croatia, Matthew Ebden of Australia, and, most recently, Ben Shelton of the USA.

His final ATP doubles stint was alongside Russian-born Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik at the 2025 Paris Masters, where the duo failed to get past the Round of 32. Bopanna and Shelton had made it to the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors in October.

"As I write this, my heart feels both heavy and grateful" - Rohan Bopanna's emotional statement

Rohan Bopanna in action at the Nitto ATP Finals 2024 - Source: Getty

An emotional Rohan Bopanna said it felt "surreal" to stand under the lights of the biggest arenas of the world after having chopped blocks of wood in Coorg to strengthen his serve.

He also stressed that stepping onto the court taught him perseverance and resilience.

"As I write this my heart feels both heavy and grateful. Starting my journey from a small town of Coorg in India. chopping blocks of wood to strengthen my serve, jogging through coffee estates to buld my stamina, and chasing dreams on cracked courts to standing under the lights of the biggest arenas in the world - it all feels surreal," Bopanna wrote on X. "Every time I stepped onto a court, it taught me perseverance, resilience, to rise, to fight again, when everything inside me said I couldn't - and most of all reminded me why I started and who I am," the two-time Grand Slam champion declared.

Bopanna, who will represent SG Pipers in the upcoming season of the Tennis Premier League, also thanked his fellow players.

"To my fellow players, thank you for the respect, the rivalries, and the brotherhood," he stated.

The all-Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna finished fourth in the mixed doubles event at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Edited by Subhashish Majumdar