Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have qualified for the men’s doubles event at the ATP Finals 2024, scheduled to take place at the Inalpi Arena in Turin from November 10 to 17.
The ATP Finals is the season-ending men’s tennis championship held annually, featuring two separate tournaments—one for singles and one for doubles. Only the top eight-ranked singles players or doubles teams from the year qualify for the ATP Finals, which is often regarded as the most significant men’s tennis event on the ATP Tour after the four Grand Slams.
Qualification for the tournament is based on ATP Finals rankings, which take into account performances in ATP events throughout the respective calendar year. Bopanna and Ebden’s qualification was confirmed after Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow were eliminated at the Paris Masters, finalizing the doubles field for 2024.
Bopanna and Ebden have had a remarkable 2024 season, beginning with a victory at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. This triumph made Bopanna the oldest world No. 1 in tennis history.
The Indo-Australian duo also won the Miami Open this year and reached the semi-finals of the French Open, in addition to making the final at Adelaide.
This will mark Bopanna’s fifth appearance at the ATP Finals, following his participations in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2023. The Indian tennis player reached the finals in 2012 and 2015, partnering with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi and Romania’s Florin Mergea, respectively, but fell short on both occasions.
After a first-round exit in the men’s doubles event at the Paris 2024 Olympics earlier this year, Bopanna retired from the Indian national team. He and Ebden also reached the semi-finals at last year’s ATP Finals.
In his debut ATP Finals campaign back in 2011, Bopanna partnered with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, but the famed Indo-Pak Express did not progress beyond the group stage.
(Agency inputs)
