Rohan Bopanna

Tennis career

Bopanna entered his first ITF Junior tournament in 1996, winning his singles first-round match against Girish Ramchandani in straight sets before losing to Yeni Sandeep. In doubles, he partnered Akshay Jagdale and lost to Harsh Mankad and Rishi Sridhar. At the Indian ITF Junior Tournament 1, he qualified for the main draw with a bye and straight-set wins over Vivek Bhakuni, Nikhil Murali, and Arjun Shetty, but lost in the first round to Vijayendra Laad.

He won his first junior title at the 1st Arab Championships with Rohan Saikia, and the pair also won the Arab Contractors International Junior Championships. They reached the semifinals of the Kuwait Junior Open, losing to Airan Kiebel and Syed Nasir AliSherazi. He ended the year at the Duncans ITF Junior World Tennis Championships with a second-round singles exit and a doubles semifinal loss with Vijayendra Laad to Manoj Mahadevan and James Auckland. His highest ITF Junior Ranking was 601 on 31 December.

Awards

Bopanna was nominated in 2010 as a Champion for Peace by Peace and Sport. He and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi received the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award in 2010 and were voted winners of Peace and Sport's Image of the Year award. He was awarded the Ekalavya Award by the Government of Karnataka in 2005, the Arjuna Award in 2019, and the Padma Shri in 2024.

Charity

Bopanna donates part of profits from 'Stop War Start Tennis' merchandise to the GoSports Foundation. In his hometown Coorg, he raises funds for an Opportunity School for physically handicapped children. He also supports the Coorg Institute of Dental Sciences, which provides low-cost dental treatment and holds free health camps. He is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club.

Did You Know?

• Bopanna is part owner of a restaurant in Bangalore.
• His favourite tournament is Wimbledon and his favourite player is Stefan Edberg.
• He was a member of the Indian Davis Cup team from 2002 to 2023.