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Indian ace tennis player Rohan Bopanna has picked his partner in N Sriram Balaji, whom he competed against in the French Open third round. He has relayed his pick to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) but is waiting for the apex body to confirm his pick.
Notably, the men’s doubles event at the Paris Olympics 2024 will have 32 teams (a maximum of two per country is allowed). The top 10 players in the ATP doubles rankings will be the first to qualify as long as they have an available partner from their nation inside the top 300 rankings.
It’s important to note that AITA will conduct a selection committee meeting after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) releases its Paris Olympics 2024 cut-off rankings list on Monday, June 10.
“I’m still waiting to receive an email from AITA to confirm who my partner is. I spoke to them and they said they’re waiting for ITF to confirm the rankings, and then they’ll tell us,” Bopanna was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times on Saturday.
“I’ve been burnt too many times in the past” - Rohan Bopanna
As the fourth-ranked doubles player in the latest ATP rankings, Bopanna has the right to pick his partner. However, it will depend on AITA to second his choice.
Interestingly, in 2016 ahead of the Rio Olympics, the then-10th-ranked Bopanna selected Saketh Myneni as his partner, but AITA paired him with Leander Paes.
“I mean, the top 10 pick was also there in 2016, right? But they overruled that. I would love to think it is up to me, but it is up to them actually. I’ve been burnt too many times in the past... so, until I officially hear it from them, I don’t want to say anything,” Bopanna added.
Ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024, Rohan Bopanna will be seen playing a couple of competitions with the finalized partner. Clay competitions in Hamburg and Umang, Croatia are a few options in front of Bopanna, which are scheduled in July.
On Thursday, Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden made an exit from the French Open after losing to the Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the semi-final. The second-seeded Indo-Australian dup fell 5-7, 6-2, 2-6 to the eleventh-seeded Italian pair in the knockout fixture.
