Mumbai: Rohan Bopanna might be done playing tennis, but he’s not quite done with the sport. The retired Indian pro’s recent sightings have been on the courts of Bengaluru, observing and supporting young Indian players who’ve taken significant strides at the Davis Cup and women’s ITF events.
And the former doubles world No.1, through his Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA), will now mentor two promising singles players in the country. Dhakshineswar Suresh, hero of India’s Davis Cup win over the Netherlands, and Vaishnavi Adkar, who had a breakthrough run to the final of the ITF W100 Bengaluru, have signed up to make RBTA their training base.
In an ecosystem that compels budding pros to look abroad for quality coaching and training centres, the two-time Grand Slam champion hopes to turn RBTA into a high performance centre for Indian players, as he outlines in this chat with HT.
Now that you’ve retired, are you excited about mentoring the next generation?
Absolutely. Mentoring younger players through the academy, helping them navigate the journey of professional tennis, that is something I genuinely look forward to. While I was still competing on the tour, my involvement at the academy had to be limited. Now that I’ve stepped away from the tour, I finally have the time to be much more hands-on. This includes working with players, shaping the training environment, and helping build the right systems around them.
Two players who’ve shown promise in singles lately, Dhakshineshwar and Vaishnavi, will make RBTA their base…
With players like Vaishnavi and Prarthana (Thombare, India doubles No.2), they wanted a structured base. So, moving here was an easy choice. Dhakshineshwar, when in India, will use RBTA as his base. I have spoken to him about the structure we have here. For us the focus is simple: if players are committed to improving and serious about building a long-term career, we want to support that process.
And you’d like to shape their journeys from close quarters?
It’s something I’m genuinely excited about. Having spent more than two decades on the tour, you experience every aspect of professional tennis. Those experiences can sometimes help younger players understand the journey better. If I can share those insights and guide them through certain phases of their career, hopefully it helps them progress with more clarity.
They will have experienced coach Balachandran Manikkath and others at RBTA. Will you be more of a behind-the-scenes mentor, or play a more active role?
It will probably be a mix of both. The coaching team — we have a strong base with Balu sir — will handle the day-to-day work with the players because consistency is important. I will definitely be around more, though. This involves watching matches, sharing thoughts from my own experience, and helping with bigger career decisions when required. In many ways, the role is mentorship and guidance when needed.
In what ways can the academy help take their careers forward?
One of the biggest challenges for Indian players has always been having a structured environment that combines coaching, fitness, physio support, and tournament planning in one place. The first step in professional tennis is leaving your comfort zone. Once you commit to that, you need the right environment around you. At RBTA, we have tried to build a home away from home, a high performance centre where players have coaching and fitness support.
Are you looking to expand the coaching team?
That is part of the plan as we grow. Professional players today need strong teams around them. Over time, we would like RBTA to strengthen that structure so players training here can access those resources more easily.
Your academy has kids, budding players, and now some promising pros. What is your vision for it?
The vision is to make RBTA a place where players can grow through every stage of their journey, no matter the level they are at. The first few years were about building the foundation. Now the focus is strengthening the performance pathway, so that talented players in India have a clearer system to develop within.
In that vision, could RBTA also become a centre for some of India’s top pros to train in the country? It’s something Indian tennis lacks currently.
That’s certainly something we would love to see. India has many talented players. Often they travel abroad searching for the right training environment. If we can build a professional ecosystem here with strong coaching, sports science, and a competitive training environment, more players can choose to base themselves in India.
Ideally, RBTA can become one of the important high performance centres in the country that builds a great ecosystem. A place that helps players transition from juniors to the professional tour. What we need more consistently are stronger systems and clearer pathways that help players reach the highest level.
