The era of the doubles team formed by Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden has come to an end. The two, who in the last two seasons reached nine ATP finals in doubles, broke up on the eve of the start of the new year.
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The 44-year-old Indian, number 1 in the doubles ranking at the start of 2024, and the Australian tennis player, Olympic gold medalist in Paris paired with John Peers, began competing together in 2023, reaching two Slam finals and winning the 2024 Australian Open against Italians Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli. The crowning achievement of a winning career for the Indian, who at 43 became the oldest tennis player in the Open Era to win a Major.
After also winning the ATP Master 1000 Miami Open, the two were unable to continue the excellent results of the beginning of the season, due to an evident drop in performance of the experienced player born in Bangalore.
Bopanna has already found a new partner, with whom he will try to defend the title won in 2024 in Australia: it is the 37-year-old Colombian Nicolas Barrientos. Ebden instead will play with Joran Vliegen, the 31-year-old Belgian who, after a long collaboration with Sander Gille, has decided not to take the field alongside his compatriot anymore.
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Bopanna himself, in an interview with the Indian press, explained the reasons for the breakup:
"It was a surprise for me. During the US Open, Matthew told me that he would play with Austin Krajicek, but it didn't happen, so he told me that he wanted to play with me. Finally, when he saw that the pair of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen were breaking up, he decided to play with Vliegen."
A couple of months ago Bopanna - in an exclusive interview with Clay, had analyzed: "I am the CEO of my company. I have worked all my life to get to the top and play at the top, so there is no reason to stop now that I am still there. I enjoy it, I compete and I love the competition. Some days of training I don't like, but I look forward to playing matches. On match day I am ready to play and I look forward to it. It is no longer about money, but about feelings, about joy. In the end, when you are young you make a lot of sacrifices.
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In tennis the career is short, so I enjoy it as much as I can. As long as I continue to win tournaments, important titles, there is nothing better. I think it is something beautiful and that it inspires a lot of people at home, especially in my academy. When I come back and talk to the kids, they are so happy. It is nice to know that they can see me play on television and when I come back they see me in person. I can share my experiences with them. We have just started a fantastic program in India for the kids. My family travels with me. I never thought my daughter would see me play live. If I had stopped at 35, it wouldn't have happened."
