Rohan Bopanna misses out on AITA’s SOM roster, falls short of one-year retirement rule

File Image: Rohan Bopanna announced his retirement from professional tennis in November last year. | Photo Credit: K MURALI KUMAR

India’s former world number one doubles player Rohan Bopanna has been left out of the AITA’s Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) roster for not meeting the mandatory one-year retirement criterion prescribed under the National Sports Governance (National Sports Bodies) Rules, 2026.

The AITA published its SOM roster on October 16, 2026, leading to Bopanna being left out as his announcement of his retirement from professional tennis fell on November 1, 2025.

The rules have mandated that a sportsperson has to have retired from active sport for at least one year before the date of application for their inclusion in the SOM roster.

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The nomination forms from the AITA also need candidates to certify that they have not actively partaken in any competitive sporting event for a year which has led to their selection in representing a district, state or India.

Despite stepping away from national duty, he continued to compete on the ATP Tour and only announced his full retirement from professional tennis last year.

Bopanna cannot be blamed for submitting his name, as he had reportedly sought clarity on his eligibility from Administrator Gita Mittal. It was only after receiving assurance from the tennis federation that he met the requirements that he sent in his application.

The confusion may have arisen because AITA considered his India career, which ended in 2024, while assessing his eligibility. But since Bopanna remained active on the professional circuit until October 2025, he was still an active player at that point.

His omission stands out because of his standing in Indian tennis and the contribution he has made to the sport beyond his playing career.

Bopanna won the mixed doubles title at the 2017 French Open and the men’s doubles crown at the 2024 Australian Open. He also became the oldest player to attain the world number one ranking in men’s doubles, achieving the milestone at 43.

He has also earned widespread goodwill among Indian players through his doubles programme, which supports active professionals with financial assistance and helps cover the costs of travelling coaches and physiotherapists.

Rohan Bopanna won the mixed doubles title at the 2017 French Open and the men’s doubles crown at the 2024 Australian Open.  | Photo Credit: AP

A total of 42 men and 28 women applied for inclusion in the roster, which was mandated to have 40 sportspersons—20 men and 20 women.

These 40 players will form the electoral college for choosing sportsperson representatives to AITA’s General Body and Executive Committee.

Leander Paes, the 1996 Olympic bronze medallist and winner of 18 Grand Slam titles in men’s and mixed doubles, is the only sportsperson named in Tier 1.

Former world number one Mahesh Bhupathi, a 12-time Grand Slam champion across men’s and mixed doubles, and Sania Mirza, a six-time Grand Slam winner and former women’s doubles world number one, are placed in Tier 2.

Tier 3 features Anand Amritraj, a former India Davis Cup player who was part of the squads that reached the finals in 1974 and 1987, along with Zeeshan Ali, a former Davis Cup competitor who later worked as a coach for Indian tennis.

Former Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea and ex-national champion Gaurav Natekar are listed in Tier 4. Rushmi Chakravarthi, a former India international, is in Tier 5, while Ankita Bhambri appears in Tier 6.

Current Davis Cup coach Ashutosh Singh, Vivek Shokeen and Sai Jayalakshmy have been placed in Tier 7.

Tier 8 includes the remaining players and contributors. Among the men are Sandeep Sanjay Kirtane, Nandan Bal, Enrico Piperno, Shrinath Prahlad, Nitten Kirrtane, India’s Billie Jean King Cup coach Vishal Uppal, Mustafa Ghouse, Mark Dominic Ferreira, Vasudeva Reddy Mummadi, Saurav Kumar Panja, Maharishi Sridhar and J Vijay Kannan.

The women in Tier 8 include Sohini Kumari, Janaki Krishnamoorthy, Arthi Venkataraman, Arati Ponnappa Natekar, Shalini Chawla Thakur, Archana Venkata Raman, Radhika Kanitkar, Shruti Sharma, Vishika Chhetri Sharma, Meghha Vakaria, Parul Goswami, Sanaa Bhambri, Shivika Burman, L Renuka Keswani, Sweta Solanki and Prerna Bhambri.

AITA’s election notification allows for four SOM representatives to be elected to the General Body—two men and two women—and two representatives to the Executive Committee, one man and one woman.

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The notification states that a candidate contesting for an SOM General Body representative post may also stand for the SOM Executive Committee representative post.

However, only those elected as SOM General Body representatives can vote and contest in the election for SOM representatives to the Executive Committee.

A candidate elected as an SOM Executive Committee representative will not be permitted to contest for any other position on AITA’s Executive Committee.