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The Indian men's doubles duo Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji lost out to French pair Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Gael Monfils in the first round to take an early exit from the Paris Olympics 2024. With that, Rohan Bopanna, who has been a solid tennis player for India for the past 22 years, has called it a day from the sport.
The Indian tennis star, currently 44, the oldest member of the entire Indian contingent at Paris, has now officially announced his India retirement post yesterday's game.
"This will definitely go down as my last event for the country. I totally understand where I am and now, I am just going to be enjoying the tennis circuit as long as that goes," Bopanna was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.
He had already announced his retirement from Davis Cup and his decision now means that he won't be participating in the 2026 Japan Asian Games. Recalling his best career highlight, Bopanna shared that winning the Davis Cup game against Brazil's Ricardo Mello in 2010 was a top moment of his more than two-decade long journey in tennis.
"That is definitely the one in Davis Cup history. That is by far my best moment, no question that that one in Chennai and then winning that five-setter doubles in Bangalore against Serbia."
He further added:
"Playing with Lee, with Hesh as a captain. At that time, it was the best team atmosphere, team camaraderie. We had with Somdev (Devverman) and me playing singles and all of us going and fighting it out, it was incredible."
Leaving the sport, Rohan Bopanna didn't forget to thank his life partner without whose support, he wouldn't have come so far. He mentioned:
"I am thankful to my wife (Supriya), who has done so many sacrifices in this journey."
Will Rohan Bopanna be a part of AITA in future?
Rohan Bopanna himself runs a support programme which helps India's doubles players. He won't shy off if he gets a chance in running the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in future. He stated:
"I will surely look at those positions when I am ready to do it. I don't want to do it while I am still competing and traveling because then I will not be able to give my hundred percent commitment towards that."
Bopanna has been a decorated tennis star for India, with a career where he won numerous accolades such as 26 ATP doubles titles, two grand slams and an Asian Games gold. He was also conferred with Arjuna Award in 2018 and Padma Shri in 2024.
