Indian tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna, considered one of simply 4 Indians to win a Grand Slam title, introduced on Saturday that he’ll retire from skilled tennis.

Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna, considered one of solely 4 gamers from India to win a Grand Slam title, introduced on Saturday that he’s retiring from skilled tennis. His choice marks the top of a profession that lasted greater than 20 years on the robust ATP Tour.

The 45-year-old performed his final match on the Paris Masters, teaming up with Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. The pair had been defeated within the first spherical earlier this week.

In an emotional assertion titled “A Goodbye… However Not The Finish,” Bopanna stated he was “formally hanging up racquet,” reflecting on a journey that took him from his hometown of Coorg to the largest arenas in world tennis.

“How do you bid farewell to one thing that gave your life its which means? After 20 unforgettable years on tour, nonetheless, it’s time..

“Beginning my journey from a small city of Coorg in India, chopping blocks of wooden to strengthen my serve, jogging via espresso estates to construct stamina and chasing goals on cracked courts to standing underneath the lights of the largest arenas on the planet—all of it feels surreal,” Bopanna wrote.

Bopanna completed representing India after the Paris Olympics final yr. He had retired from the Davis Cup in 2023, taking part in his ultimate match towards Morocco in Lucknow.

The doubles knowledgeable, who spent 22 years within the sport, stated that tennis was greater than only a sport for him — it gave him motivation, power, and religion throughout robust instances.

“Each time I stepped onto a courtroom, it taught me perseverance, resilience to rise, to combat once more when all the pieces inside me stated I couldn’t—and most of all, jogged my memory why I began and who I’m,” he stated.

Bopanna additionally expressed gratitude to his household, saying they’d stood by him all through his profession.

He appreciated his dad and mom for all their sacrifices, thanked his sister Rashmi for all the time motivating him, and known as his spouse Supriya his largest assist away from the courtroom.

He devoted a heartfelt observe to his daughter, Tridha, saying she gave him “new objective and a softer power.

“Each match I performed in these final years, I performed for you—to point out you that goals are price preventing for and that kindness and braveness matter greater than profitable,” he wrote.

Bopanna, who began his skilled profession within the early 2000s, grew into considered one of India’s prime doubles gamers, acknowledged for his sturdy serve and lengthy profession on the ATP Tour. Throughout his time in tennis, he performed for India in lots of Davis Cup matches, Grand Slam tournaments, and the Olympics.

He claimed his first Grand Slam title on the 2017 French Open, profitable the blended doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski from Canada. Later, in 2024, he captured his first males’s doubles Grand Slam title on the Australian Open with Matthew Ebden.

In 2023, Bopanna and Ebden additionally gained the Indian Wells championship, making him the oldest participant to win an ATP Masters title at age 43.

The next yr, he grew to become the oldest world No. 1 in doubles, reaching the milestone throughout his Australian Open success.

Bopanna plans to stay lively in tennis. He has lately launched the UTR Tennis Professional occasion to India and is concerned in a number of new initiatives associated to the game.