The game that defined him, the goodbye that redeems him: Rohan Bopanna’s last serve

“How do you bid farewell to something that gave your life its meaning?”

It is a question humans often find themselves grappling with. On Saturday, one of Indian tennis’ all-time greats – Rohan Bopanna – began his retirement announcement with the very same question.

For over two decades, since he turned professional in 2003, the 6’4” giant from Coorg has been a name synonymous with Indian tennis.

Bopanna broke through the ranks at a time when Indian tennis was in turmoil. Between the off-court spat between Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupati, the rise of a young Sania Mirza – a never-seen-before phenom in the country's women’s sporting landscape – Bopanna carved his own identity.

Having reached a career-high ATP men’s singles ranking of 213 in 2007, Bopanna traded the discipline for doubles. With two Grand Slam titles and two Asian Games gold medals, the discipline often overlooked by the world is where he thrived.

Known for a big blooming serve, which he developed by chopping wooden blocks and a powerful forehand, Bopanna took time to find success at the highest level.

Though he played his first Grand Slam Final in 2010 along with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, it was only in the post-Mirza era, when India were desperate for a new hero, that Bopanna delivered.

The earliest of his two Grand Slam titles came in 2017 – seven years after he reached a final. Partnering with Gabriela Dabrowski, Bopanna triumphed at Roland Garros. He was 37.

A year later, he won the men’s doubles title at the Asian Games in Jakarta alongside Dvij Sharan.

Post the COVID-19 pandemic, when the big three of tennis dwindled, Bopanna continued to scale greater heights while being on the wrong side of 40s. At the delayed Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, he took the mixed doubles gold with Rutuja Bhosale.

Then, at 43 years and 10 months old, he lifted his first men’s doubles Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open – 14 years after he first lost the US Open final with Qureshi.

The Australian Open made him the oldest player to win a Grand Slam. Weeks later, he was the oldest first-time World No. 1 in history.

But Bopanna’s finest moment possibly came before all of this at the 2023 US Open. Competing in the men’s doubles title clash along with Matthew Ebden, the Indo-Australian duo was trailing.

At this point, Ebden played a well-placed cross-court forehand winner, taking their opponents by surprise. The umpire handed them the point.

Almost instinctively, Bopanna raised his hand. He pointed out that the ball had grazed his hand before landing on the opposite side of the court.

The honesty and sportsmanship, while still in search of a maiden men’s doubles Grand Slam title, possibly sum up Bopanna’s two-decade-long career.

He was never the prodigy who shook up the tennis world, nor someone who raked up titles at will. Bopanna had his limitations and yet rose to the apex with sheer perseverance.

For those earmarked for early success but struggling with midlife crises, Bopanna is a glowing hero. Maybe “doing a Bopanna” could mean outlasting your peers and reaping the rewards, no matter how delayed, somewhere down the line.

He leaves a huge void in Indian tennis – all the Indian Grand Slam winners have now retired. But he’ll hang around on the sidelines.

“This game gave me everything, and now, I want to give back – to help the dreamers from small towns believe that their beginnings don’t define their limit,” Bopanna said.

For, how do you bid farewell to something that gave your life its meaning?