Rohan Bopanna born 4 March 1980 is an Indian professional tennis player. His singles career-high ranking was world No. 213 in 2007 and his career-high ranking in doubles was world No. 3 on 22 July 2013. Recently, most of his appearances in professional tournaments have been in doubles matches. He has been a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2002. In 2010, he finished as a runner-up in doubles at the US Open, partnering with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. He won the 2017 French Open mixed-doubles title with Gabriela Dabrowski becoming the fourth Indian player to win a Grand Slam title.
Bopanna partnered with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in doubles in 2007. The duo, nicknamed the IndoPak Express, went on to win four Challenger titles in quick succession. However, it was only in the 2010 season that the pair broke into the top-ten doubles teams. That year, they reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, finished runners-up in the US Open and in five ATP Tour events, and won the Johannesburg Open.
Early life
Rohan began playing tennis at the age of 11 because his father wanted him to pursue an individual sport. He did enjoy other games like hockey and football, but by the time he turned 19, tennis became his main priority. His father, M. G. Bopanna, is a coffee planter, and his mother, Malika Bopanna, is a housewife. Both his parents are ardent supporters of Rohan’s career. They live in Coorg/ Kodagu District in the South Indian State of Karnataka, which is a six-hour drive from Bangalore. He has an older sister who lives in Mumbai. Growing up, Rohan idolized and was greatly influenced by Stefan Edberg. He made his Davis Cup debut for India versus Australia in September 2002 and turned pro in 2003. He completed his education from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College which comes under the umbrella of Jain University, Bengaluru.
Tennis career
2007
Bopanna distinguished himself as one of India’s finest doubles players at the 2007 Hopman Cup. He lost his first singles match, but helped clinch a 2–1 victory with Sania Mirza over the Czech Republic in the final and decisive mixed doubles match. In their second confrontation against Croatia, the scenario was repeated, with Mirza winning her singles match while Bopanna lost. Together they defeated the Croats in mixed doubles to end up with four points out of three matches. India lost to Spain to finish runners-up in Group B, with Mirza and Bopanna losing both their singles matches, but winning in mixed doubles.
2008
Bopanna at the St. Petersburg Open 2008, doubles quarterfinals
Bopanna won the men’s doubles title at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles with partner Eric Butorac. This was his first ATP title.
2009
Rohan started the season fairly well by qualifying for the Chennai Open, but lost in the first round of the main draw. In February, he made it to the final of the SAP Open in San Jose, California, partnering with Jarkko Nieminen.
2010: First Grand Slam doubles final
Rohan Bopanna started the year on a high, reaching the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open, partnering with Mahesh Bhupathi.
In February, with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Bopanna won his second, and the duo’s first, ATP doubles title, beating Karol Beck and Harel Levy in the final of the SA Tennis Open in a super-tiebreak. The duo reached the final of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco. They reached the final of the Nice Open, before losing to the Brazilian pair of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.
In June, Bopanna and Qureshi made it to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time in their careers at the Wimbledon Championships.
After a successful Wimbledon, Bopanna and Qureshi achieved another finals finish at the Atlanta Open. They beat the world No. 1 pair of the Bryan brothers in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. They lost their semifinal match to Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles. They then reached the final of the New Haven Open at Yale and the St. Petersburg Open.
