Serving Memories: Rohan Bopanna Looks Back at partnership with Aisham Qureshi, Davis Cup Thrills and Olympics Heartbreak

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Rohan Bopanna takes his job seriously at work, literally. Apart from being a superb professional doubles tennis player, he still is committed to his employer Indian Oil Corporation, where he has been working for over two decades.

Indian Oil won the team title at the PSPB inter-unit lawn tennis event in Pune on Friday, and Bopanna was nostalgic about it. In a freewheeling chat with MyKhel, Bopanna opened up on his long journey in tennis, with the 2025 season a reminder he will slog and perform.

Question: What memories from Pune, Rohan, a special city for you?

Bopanna: I cannot but get nostalgic to be winning in Pune. This is the city where I learnt most of my tennis, this is where I played for five years with Nitin and Sandeep Kirtane. There are so many memories, and all of them came flooding back when I played here again for my company. They have been very supportive.

Question: Tell us more about Pune and your journey.

Bopanna: I suppose you know I was rejected by so many tennis academies in India as I was not a good junior player. Even BAT (Britannia Amritraj Trust) rejected me in Madras and so did the Batra Academy in Pune. I played with the others in Pune. Well, I was not a good junior but am still happy to be playing at 44.

Question: What was the support you got from your parents?

Bopanna: Massive, Kannan. I mean, when I read and hear about the pressure which kids face today, I am lucky. Even when I was 21, which was 23 years ago, I was not doing that great. My parents kept pushing me and supporting me. They are still my solid supporters and want me to continue playing.

Question: You are married now, so what about the support from your wife?

Bopanna: Massive. When I got married in 2012, my wife (Supriya) had no clue about tennis. She did not come from a tennis background but the way she has supported me and kept me going, it's just amazing. Even when I went through bad patches, she kept me going. I am lucky to have such support from a wonderful family. I had almost thought of even quitting at one point in time, but my wife ensured I was around. I am blessed I have a beautiful daughter (Tridha) who understands I am not around as well all the time.

Question: Can you take us back to the grass-court nationals in 1997, when you beat Vikrant Chaddha in Duliajan (Assam)?

Bopanna: Oh yeah, that was a big win for me as Vikrant was projected as a big player. I can recall I served big on grass and it was an upset.

Question: You served big, people called you 'Bofors" Bopanna, and you did not like it?

Bopanna: The serve has been an integral part of my game, very big. What I would like to mention is how a new dimension was added by CGK Bhupathi (Mahesh Bhupathi's father) in 2001. He saw me serving and immediately noticed I had to work on my second serve, the kick serve. I mean, he would push me into something like 200 serves a day to work on it and perfect it. Today, as I play at Level 44, that kick serve is so important in my game. Before that, I would have one big serve and fire four double faults. It is that kick serve that helps me on all surfaces even today.

Question: Going back to singles, what do you remember most?

Bopanna: It was not easy really. Those days we had four-week ITF Satellite events followed by a Masters event. One had to play all the five weeks. Later, I did win Futures events. If you ask me what I remember most and beating whom, I think it was defeating Nitin Kirtane in 2001 in Besant Nagar Club (Madras) in 2001. Nitin and I had trained together for years, so to beat him was big, that was very important.

Question: You had some memorable singles matches in Davis Cup as well in 2002 onwards?

Bopanna; Davis Cup was always special, we dreamt about playing for the country. I still remember when I was picked for Davis Cup for the first time in 2002, my dad threw a party in Coorg. It was that big, me playing for India in the Davis Cup.

Question: You had to make a shift to doubles later, why?

Bopanna: Around 2010, I had to shift to doubles, as I knew I was not going too far in singles. It was a conscious decision and playing doubles comes naturally to me. I played at various levels and various partners and grew in doubles, with many players.

Question: Tennis fans remember you playing so well with Pakistan's Aisam Qureshi. Your thoughts?

Bopanna: Aisam and I played from 2003 onwards at various events, from the lower tier. The big year was 2010 when we made it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals and also did well to reach the US Open final in New York. We had a great time, and at that time were seen as a tough pair to beat on the circuit. There was this added charm of an Indian and Pakistani playing together.

Question: You talk of Level 44, next year you will be 45.

Bopanna: Consistency, fitness, and slogging on my strengthening, there is no shortcut. I have used good coaches and physios to work on my fitness and also am a firm practitioner of Iyengar yoga. I have no cartilage in my knees, so I am dead without a personal physio travelling with me. In tennis, to be there for so many years at the top, it is not easy. People talk of having to score 99.9 percent to get into the best colleges or universities. I have to be at that level daily to survive and do well in tennis, that's what I aspire for.

Question: Your thoughts on the 2025 season?

Bopanna: I have a new partner for the new season from Colombia, Nicolas Barrientos. He is a doubles specialist, solid in groundstrokes, and good from the baseline. We will see how it goes in the first week in Australia and then the Australian Open in Melbourne. A new partner, I am looking forward to it.

Question: You have been part of several Olympic campaigns and it was heartbreak in 2016 when you and Sania Mirza missed that bronze medal in that playoff match in Rio.

Bopanna: That was one hard loss, very tough to digest even today. We played well, but then to lose the medal is hard to digest. I was also upset at not doing well in the Paris Olympics as well with Ram (Sriram Balaji). I have great memories from the Olympics as well as the Asian Games campaigns.

Question: The way you have given back to tennis by holding camps and promoting doubles, please talk about it.

Bopanna: I feel there is so much doubles talent in India. I do hold camps and if the boys can gain from it, why not? It's almost an annual feature, with all expenses paid, plus coaches and physios. These camps are really helpful for the players.

Question: How does it feel to keep going in tennis, the thrill, the charm?

Bopanna: I am enjoying it, and I repeat, I have massive support from my entire family. To continue to have the same passion and work hard, is what keeps me going. I do miss my family, so whenever possible my wife and daughter join me or I do fly back home for a short break. I will be travelling again even before I realize the break is over!