Rohan Bopanna may be the owner of a series of the ‘oldest’ records in tennis, but the 43-year-old hasn’t let age define him. It’s not just a number, it’s a milestone he has taken along with him. The 6ft 4’ Indian has just become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam after clinching the Australian Open men’s doubles trophy. The world doubles No.1 and newly awarded Padma Shri, talks to Sunday Times about how he overcame the challengesDoes that Tuesday evening in Estoril three years ago when you almost quit tennis feel distant now…
That evening was difficult, it was emotional. I walked all over the town and down that beautiful Riviera. I was at a place in my head where I was very close to stopping that passion I had pursued all my life because I hadn’t won a match in four months. I was alone. No coach, no physio, no anyone. I started talking to myself. I was saying maybe this is the end of my tennis career. Slowly I started saying it all out loud. The truth was coming out, the disappointment…the difficulty. I had kept it all inside of me, never spoken to anyone about it. Speaking about it, even to myself made a difference.
Later that week, I went to Madrid for the next tournament and ended up winning my first match of the year, after seven straight losses. After that I told myself I may be at the end of the road, but as long as the season (2021) lasts, I have to enjoy myself and not really worry about results. I was playing with Denis Shapovalov in Madrid, he’s a dear, dear friend of mine. I told myself, let’s just go out there and have fun, just two friends, who hit the ball real big. By the end of 2021, I was still ranked in the 40s, and that gave me hope for 2022. Then I made the semis at Roland Garros (2022) with Matwe Middelkoop and just like that the doubts faded away.