Rohan Bopanna will be pairing up with Colombian doubles expert Nicolas Barrientos at the 2025 season opener in Adelaide, to be followed by the Australian Open, starting January 12. Confirming the news, Bopanna said he was looking forward to the new season.
“Nicolas is a baseline player and his strengths are speed, return of serve and groundstrokes,” Bopanna told RevSportz on Tuesday. Nicolas is ranked 49th at present in doubles, so Bopanna is hopeful of doing well next year. The good part is Nicolas has plenty of doubles experience and also won an ATP Tour title in 2024.
There was massive uncertainty for Bopanna after his partner for the last two years, Matt Ebden, had broken off with the Indian. There was no fallout between the two but the way Ebden abruptly ended the partnership had caught Bopanna off guard. The duo did compete at the ATP finals in Turin recently but the results were not good. By then, Ebden had decided he was moving on.
Such things do happen in doubles in tennis but Ebden taking a break after the Paris Olympics and regrouping with Bopanna had led to the hope that the pair could stick together. They had good chemistry, which saw them win the Australian Open in January 2024.
“Usually, the doubles pairs are decided after the US Open for the next season. What was more surprising for me also was that my name had been linked with Ivan Dodig when I was playing in Turin,” said Bopanna. Apparently, a commentator blurted it on air which made Bopanna furious. As it is, he was under stress as there was uncertainty lurking over the 2025 season.
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The hunt for a doubles player who could match Bopanna was not an easy one. As the draw for the Adelaide event is 16 pairs, it will be a tough one. Hopefully, the duo will hit it off well. Bopanna also said he is hoping the duo can get seeded at the Australian Open. “I am defending points, so as of now Nicolas and I have confirmed for two events in 2025,” added Bopanna.
For someone who has been playing solid doubles tennis at the age of 44, Bopanna does not worry about what will happen in the next season. He has been training hard, working on fitness, strength and yoga to keep him going. He will be 45 next year, but is looking to continue. He called himself Level 43 and then Level 44, so a new name could be Level 45 in the forthcoming season.
After the first-round loss at the Paris 2024 Olympics with Sriram Balaji as his partner, Bopanna was upset. He took a day off before deciding he would not play for India again. He had already signed out from the Davis Cup in 2023. Though he said his Asian Games campaigns are also over, after winning gold with Rutuja Bhosale in Hangzhou in 2023, one never knows what can happen with Bopanna. The next Asian Games is in 2026 in Nagoya, Japan.
“Looking at his fitness, I think Rohan can go on till the 2028 Olympics,” Mahesh Bhupathi had told this correspondent recently. However, Bopanna is not looking that far ahead.
He does find time to come home often to be with his family in Bengaluru. “I would like to keep going and do my best,” said Bopanna.
The best part is, as he does not raise expectations too high, there will be less pressure. As the senior-most doubles player on the ATP Tour, what Bopanna does in 2025 will be watched with interest. More so at a time when Indian tennis languishes at the depths of despair.
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