Published: October 2, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Former tennis player Rohan Bopanna has changed gears. The two-time Grand Slam winner had announced his retirement from professional Tennis last year, bringing an end to his 20-year-long celebrated career. A year later, Bopanna has become an MBA graduate.
“Proud to have completed the ATP & LALIGA MBA in sports management for professional athletes,” Bopanna posted on Instagram.
“9 months. 3 weeks in Madrid. 1 thesis. Countless online lessons.
“Thank you to my mentor Edouard Legendre for always pushing me to think bigger & to Juanjo Martin and the ATP Player Relations team for the constant support,” he stated.
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Bopanna went on to thank his wife, daughter and others in his post. “To my fellow ATP players: rivals across the net, teammates in the classroom, friends for life. And to my wife, daughter & family, for being in my corner every step of the way,” he wrote.
“The game isn’t over. It’s just changed,” he signed off.
Bopanna had an illustrious tennis career
Widely regarded as one of India’s greatest tennis players, Bopanna built a remarkable legacy based on a powerful serve, deft net skills, and a lasting influence in both men’s and mixed doubles.
Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza had won the mixed doubles title at the 2023 Australian Open
Bopanna’s breakthrough moment came in 2017, when he lifted the French Open mixed doubles title alongside Gabriela Dabrowski, cementing his place among the sport’s elite.
Across his illustrious journey, Bopanna reached five Grand Slam finals – one in men’s doubles (with Matthew Ebden at the 2023 US Open) and four in mixed doubles (with Dabrowski at the 2017 French Open, Timea Babos at the 2018 Australian Open, and Sania Mirza at the 2023 Australian Open) – underscoring his consistency and longevity at the highest level.
Bopanna takes a stand
Recently, Bopanna had thrown his weight behind the five players who have been removed by the Sports Ministry, from the original list of 12 submitted by the All India Tennis Association (AITA), for the ongoing Asian Games 2026.
In a post shared on LinkedIn, Bopanna called for athletes to be given the chance to prove themselves on court rather than have their chances determined on paper by a medal-potential formula.
“I’m a proud Indian. And today, I want to speak up for these tennis players who deserve better. They didn’t ask for mercy. They asked for a chance,” Bopanna said.
Bopanna argued that the five players had already done what athletes are expected to do: compete, accumulate rankings and earn their place through results.
“Dhamne. Adkar. Yamalapalli. Vaidehee. Thombare. Five players — including India’s No. 1 and No. 2 in women’s singles, who earned their rankings the hard way. No shortcuts. No favors. They competed internationally, qualified and proved where they stand.”
“If outcomes are already decided, why have qualifications at all? Why rankings?” he asked.
Bopanna reckoned that such decisions often have a far more negative returns than just rejecting a player.
“This isn’t just a call about five athletes. It’s a message to every parent, every sponsor who backed them before the country did, who bet on merit and results, not on being pre-approved,” he said.
“Telling these players they’re ‘not medal prospects’ tells every one of those parents and sponsors: your judgment doesn’t matter here.”
For Bopanna, the very nature of sport makes predicting outcomes an imperfect exercise.
“Sport is the one arena where belief outruns prediction, where the written off rewrite the script,” he said. “You don’t build a sporting nation, or a sporting economy, by deciding in a boardroom who’s allowed to compete.”
Bopanna’s answer is unequivocal. “Let them walk onto the court. Let their years of work count for something.
“Let sport decide. Not a spreadsheet.”
