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Indian ace tennis player Rohan Bopanna will team up with the 67th-ranked doubles player N Sriram Balaji in the men’s doubles event at the Paris Olympics 2024, scheduled to start on July 26.
On June 13, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) officially announced the news after initially Rohan Bopanna picked Balaji as his partner awaiting AITA’s confirmation to second his choice.
Additionally, the AITA also confirmed that coach M Balachandran and physio Rebecca Van Orshaegen would be traveling alongside the team as the support staff.
Rohan Bopanna, India’s highest-ranked doubles player, had the option to choose his partner for the Games as long as the player is ranked within the top 300 in the world. Notably, Bopanna achieved the World No. 1 ranking in 2024 and also clinched the Australian Open doubles title with his Aussie partner Matthew Ebden.
It’s important to note that the men’s doubles event at the Paris Olympics 2024 will have 32 teams (a maximum of two per country is allowed).
According to the rules, 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 country inside the top 300 rankings.
Yuki Bhambri was also in the race to partner with Rohan Bopanna
Interestingly, Yuki Bhambri was also in the race as the second-best Indian doubles tennis player. Notably, Bopanna earlier partnered with Bhambri in the Davis Cup and the Asian Games. Nevertheless, AITA went ahead and seconded Bopanna’s choice of Balaji.
Bopanna paired with Mahesh Bhupathi and Vishu Vardhan in the previous editions of the Olympics. India has won only one medal in tennis so far at the Olympic Games with Leander Peas winning a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
Ahead of the forthcoming Paris Olympics 2024, Bopanna and Balaji will head to Hamburg (Germany) and Umag (Croatia) with their coach and physiotherapist to participate in the ATP 500 events.
The Hamburg European Open is the first ATP tour the Indian pair will compete in from July 13 to 21 and the Croatia Open is scheduled from July 21 to 27.
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