Paris 2024 Olympics: All eyes on Rohan Bopanna, Sumit Nagal as India aim to revive tennis glory

The 1996 Olympics were, historically, the pinnacle of Indian tennis as a sport. Against all odds, Leander Paes, at the age of 23, won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games, despite not being a big name in the ATP Tour’s global rankings.

Paes was the first and only Indian tennis player to win an Olympic medal. Fast forward to 2024, India will be looking to emulate what Paes achieved in 1996 and end the 28-year medal drought in tennis, which is largely dominated by European nations.

The three-member contingent will represent India in tennis at the Paris Olympics. Veteran tennis player Rohan Bopanna, who represented India twice at the Olympics in 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio), will partner N Sriram Balaji in the men’s doubles event, while tennis phenomenon Sumit Nagal will vie for a medal in the men’s singles event.

The 44-year-old Bopanna has comfortably secured a quota for India, and has maintained a spot in the top 10 in the doubles rankings since November last year. He is also the oldest athlete in the Indian contingent in Paris. Meanwhile, Nagal made the cut-off after rising 18 places in the singles rankings last month, and occupied the last spot among the eligible players who secured quotas through world rankings.

India will not have a player competing in the women’s event at the upcoming Paris Olympics as they are yet to find a player of Sania Mirza’s calibre after her retirement.

Earlier this year, Bopanna fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning his first Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open, partnering Australian Matt Ebden. The tournament win propelled the Indian veteran to become the world number one in doubles at the age of 43, making him the oldest man in the Open Era to win a major men’s doubles title.

Bopanna narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics when Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram defeated Bopanna and Sania Mirza in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event. They then fell short to Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka in the bronze medal play-off.

Bopanna and Balaji have never played together before, but given the former’s remarkable tennis performances and experience, the chances of them winning a medal are high.

In addition, all eyes are on Sumit Nagal, who qualified for the Olympic Games after consistent performance since last year and had a breakthrough season in 2024.

Nagal’s efforts have led to a significant rise in the rankings. He was ranked 138th in the world at the start of this year, but is currently ranked 68th in the ATP rankings.

Sumit’s consistent play earned him a spot in the Olympic singles competition for the second time in a row. The Indian defeated Denis Istomin in the opening round of the Tokyo Olympics, before losing to former world number 1 Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

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The Indian, who excels on clay, has a good chance to impress in Paris as it is a good hunting ground for him.

The men’s and women’s singles events at Paris 2024 will each feature 64 players.

Five separate events will be contested in Paris 2024: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles

All draws for the tennis tournaments at the 2024 Olympic Games will take place on July 25.

Where will the tennis matches take place at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be held in Paris, France, with the tennis tournaments scheduled to take place at Roland Garros, home of the French Open Grand Slam tournament.

Roland Garros has 12 championship courts in action, including the world-famous Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Tennis schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics:

Men’s singles: July 27 to August 4

Men’s doubles: July 27 to August 3

Women’s singles: July 27 to August 3

Women’s doubles: July 27 to August 4