KSLTA honours Grand Slam champion Rohan Bopanna

PTI, Feb 13, 2024, 9:59 AM IST

The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) on Monday felicitated world number one in doubles and two-time Grand Slam champion Rohan Bopanna, acknowledging his glorious career.

Bopanna recently became only the third male Indian player to win a men’s doubles Grand Slam trophy when he triumphed at the Australian Open.

“I would like to thank the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) for honoring me today. There were a lot of difficulties in this long journey but I never looked at them in a bad way and knew that my opportunity would come,” Bopanna said after the felicitation ceremony.

“My parents and sister gave me tremendous support and I wouldn’t have been here without them. The biggest thing is to not change academies and coaches immediately and be patient with the process.

“A lot of credit goes to everyone who has helped since my younger days and I am grateful to everyone for their part in this journey. My best wishes to everyone playing at the Bengaluru Open.”

Apart from the KSLTA officials, para-athlete KY Venkatesh, former heptathlete and Asian Games bronze medallist Pramila Aiyappa, former tennis player and 1998 Asian Games bronze medallist Srinath Prahlad and 2014 men’s doubles Wimbledon champion Vasek Pospisil also congratulated Rohan Bopanna for his achievements.

Bengaluru-born Bopanna shares a great rapport with the KSLTA, where he not only played tennis in his growing years but also was appointed vice president of the state body in 2020.

Enroute his inspiring title-winning show in Melbourne, the 43-year-old also touched the numero uno rank for the first time in his career. Before the Coorgi, only Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza have managed to sit atop the ranking table.

In his glorious career, Bopanna has so far won 25 doubles titles on Tour and will also represent India at the Paris Olympics.