CHENNAI: There was a time in the recent past when India's men's doubles reserves in tennis was close to breaking point. In the first week of January 2022, Rohan Bopanna was the only player to be ranked inside the top-100 (No. 43). Apart from Bopanna, there were only five players inside the top-200.
For a country that had come to rely on doubles players, this was a sudden downturn. In October 2019, for instance, Divij Sharan was the top-ranked Asian in the circuit. Cut to 2022 and he was No. 119.
Something had to be done to course correct. In March 2022, the Pune Metropolitan District Tennis Association (with substantial help from Bopanna) started the 'Doubles Dream of India'. The aim of the project was to help some of the leading doubles players by providing them coaches and physios. They would travel and stay with the players irrespective of the location.
As part of the programme, Bopanna also held a pre-season training camp in Dubai ahead of the 2023 season. The camp was conducted by South Africa's Jeff Coetzee, a well-known figure in the world of doubles (he had played a big part in Robert Farah and Juan Cabal becoming a gun doubles team on the circuit).
Less than 14 months removed from that off-season camp in Dubai, a course correction is well under-way. Bopanna is World No 1, there are four others in the top-100 and seven others ranked from 100 to 200.
If the early months of 2022 was a famine, now, there's a feast.
What the doubles dream project has given India is multi-pronged. The tangibles are there for all to see; more than 10 players inside the top-200. With Bopanna now inside the top-10, India have assured themselves of a spot in men's doubles as long as Bopanna remains there on June 10, 2024 (the ranking cut-off date for Olympics qualification).Because there are a lot of players ranked inside the top-300, the Australian Open doubles champion is not going to be short on options.
In an ideal world, he will have decided on his partner so that they will get used to each other before the Olympics. But there are no such plans in place; not yet anyway. Speaking to select reporters on a con call after winning the Australian Open with Matt Ebden, he had said: "It is great that we are going to have representation in men's doubles," the 43-year-old had said. "Who am I going to play with is yet to be decided. June is the deadline and I need to pick a partner.
"After that (French Open), whoever I play with, I just try and hope that there are at least one or two tournaments... currently the guys are ranked around 60 and 70 and it is tough to get into an ATP 500 or 1000. So hoping that they improve their ranking and we can get into one or two events just before the Olympics."
Are any of Bopanna's potential partners thinking about it? While 'yes' would be an overstatement, they are all cognisant of the fact that Bopanna could, in theory, pick up the phone to at least have a conversation.
N Sriram Balaji, for example, knows he could, in theory, get a call. He has already played a Davis Cup doubles rubber with Bopanna (Uzbekistan in 2017). He's also inside the top-100 but the 33-year-old doesn't want to get his hopes too high at the moment. "I was hoping to be called (up) for the Asian Games," he tells this daily. "I don't want to end up with disappointment. But it's obviously nice that India will have a team."
Balaji, who partners German Andre Begemann on Tour, also credited the Doubles Dream project. The 33-year-old was outside the top-10 a year ago. Now? Just outside the top-75. It's a far cry from where Balaji was in 2017, when he turned to crowd-funding to get to the Majors (partnering Vishnu Vardhan).
Another player inside the top-100 is Vijay Sundar Prashanth. After lockdown, Prashanth was faced with a decision. He had lost his singles ranking and he didn't want to put himself through the grind of working his way up via the Futures (ITF World Tour). "I was 34," he tells this daily. "Would have mentally been a challenge to do the whole grind again."
So he decided to become a doubles player. When he was searching for a potential partner, he chanced upon a conversation with PC Vignesh, a player-turned-coach.
That's how Prashanth started playing with Anirudh Chandrasekhar a few years ago. This pair is fairly significant as they are the only all-Indian pairing who regularly play on the Tour. As both of them are inside the top-100, they regularly make the cut for 250-level events (they have played in five Tour-level competitions in 2024).
Considering they can theoretically still play in the Olympics as a pair by themselves — they will need a lot of results to go their way — it's not a surprise to hear that Prashanth, 12 years Anirudh's senior, and his partner have spoken about it. "We have spoken about it," he says. "Have to wait and watch how it goes.
"We are all friends off the court so we will be happy (irrespective of whoever gets to play). Obviously it will be great if we get to do it (play) as a pair."He was also intimate with the Doubles Dream. "It has been a big help as they have provided us with physios and coaches whenever possible. At the top level, the minute details matter a lot."
At the other end of the contenders, you have the likes of Saketh Myneni; somebody who has partnered Bopanna at multiple Davis Cup outings. However, Myneni, who's partnering Ramkumar Ramanathan on the Challenger circuit, believes he doesn't have a chance. "Very happy with our progress here," he had told this daily after Ramkumar and he captured the Chennai Challenger last week. "We have known each other for a while now. It's great fun to play together with a friend. About the Olympics, I'm too far away for anyone."
Niki Poonacha, who featured in that Chennai final on the other side of the net, also echoed similar sentiments. However, he name-checked the likes of Balaji and Anirudh as a potential partner. "At the moment, we (Rithvik Bollipalli and himself) are not in it," he says. "Yuki (Bhambri), Bala, Anirudh and Prashanth are all there inside the top-100. I'm sure he will pick the right person."
With a few months to go to name his partner, Bopanna has multiple players he can turn towards including people he has teamed up with in the past.One thing, though, is certain. In the recent past, Indian doubles players, whether by chance or design, and the Olympics were bad news stories (disputes and controversies). This time out, it could be more harmonious.
