Rohan Bopanna open to take up administrative role at AITA, says would love to make real change

Rohan Bopanna has expressed interest in taking an administrative role at the All India Tennis Association, aiming to make a positive change in Indian tennis.

The legendary Rohan Bopanna on Tuesday expressed his willingness to take up an administrative role at the All India Tennis Association, which is set to hold elections in the coming time, saying he would ''love to make a real change''.

Last month, the Delhi High Court had allowed the election results of September 2024 to stand but directed the elected body to function only as an interim arrangement, under the supervision of the court-appointed administrator, former Chief Justice Gita Mittal.

Justice Mittal was also directed by the court to conduct fresh elections within three months after aligning the constitution with the Sports Act 2025, and the Sports Governance Rules 2026.

''The elections are coming up and yes if there is an opportunity to change Indian sport and me being part of that, I would love to be associated where I could make a real change in developing Indian tennis,'' Bopanna told PTI in an exclusive interview here on the sidelines of KIA and Tennis Premier League's three-year partnership announcement.

''That is what is really needed, not just hold a position to be there and not really create an impact. If I can create an impact, yeah why not?,'' Bopanna said.

Elaborating on his 'Doubles Dream of India' program at his academy, Bopanna said it is crucial for Indian tennis to focus on its strengths.

''The only reason doubles is better in terms of singles today is because there is a program which we support for the doubles program and it's called the 'Doubles Dream of India', for which we have a sponsor and where we are supporting these doubles players with coaches and physios,'' he said.

''That is one of the reasons also the doubles has significantly improved than singles. So similarly we need similar structures for the singles players. What I look at it is like, where we have players today, let's support them and not what we don't have.''.

''Everybody asks us 'why we don't have', but nobody asks us to say yes we have these players and what are we doing with them, and how are we improving that?,'' he added.

Bopanna, who is also the vice president of the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, said the governing body has been able to bring a lot of tournaments to the state.

''We have been trying to do a lot with running tournaments and we have been really successful in terms of getting a lot of tournaments in the state, not only junior tournaments but also women's and men's. Last year we had the World Tennis League, we had the Fed Cup (and the) Davis Cup,'' he said.

With Dhakshineswar Suresh being a part of the Rohan Bopanna Academy now, the former Indian player said the idea behind his academy is to provide overall development for players across age groups and categories.

''There are about 175 kids based out of Bangalore and not only the top-level players, (such as) Vaishnavi Adkar, Dhakshineswar Suresh also who is part of the Motilal program, but then there are Dev Javia (and) Prarthana Thombare as well,'' he said.

''We also support 37 underprivileged kids from Assam and Jammu to whom we provide boarding, lodging and education including tennis at the academy. We want to give the best to all the athletes, to get the right kind of training, right kind of fitness, the mental health, nutritionist, physiotherapy everything under one roof,'' Bopanna said.

Talking about playing in the TPL's upcoming edition, Bopanna said he is looking to remain fit and sharp ahead of the season.

''I'm playing a little bit at my academy in Bangalore and getting a chance to play again at the league, I need to make sure that I'm fully sharp and ready to play and especially before the season starts. I'll make sure I'm training at the highest level and keeping myself fit and that is the main thing,'' he said.