Rohan Bopanna Left Out of AITA SOM Roster Over Retirement Rule

India's former world No. 1 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 46-year-old announced his retirement from professional tennis on November 1, 2025, falling short of the stipulated one-year period by just a few weeks when the AITA published its SOM roster on October 16, 2026. The rules require a sportsperson to have retired from active sport for at least one year before the date of application for inclusion in the SOM roster.

AITA's nomination forms also require candidates to certify that they have not participated in any competitive sporting event leading to selection to represent a district, state or India for at least one year before submitting their applications.

Bopanna had announced the end of his India career following his exit from the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Before that, he had declared that the 2023 Davis Cup tie against Morocco in Lucknow would be his last appearance for the country and had retired his India jersey.

He continued playing on the professional circuit before announcing his retirement last year.

Bopanna Not at Fault

Bopanna cannot be faulted for submitting his name, as he had sought clarification regarding his eligibility from administrator Gita Mittal. Only after receiving assurances from the tennis federation that he met the criteria did he submit his application.

The possible confusion may have stemmed from the fact that AITA considered his retirement from international duty in 2024 as meeting the requirement. However, since he continued competing on the ATP Tour, he remained an active player until November 2025.

Bopanna's exclusion is notable given his stature in Indian tennis and his contribution 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 No. 1 ranking in men's doubles, achieving the feat at the age of 43.

Bopanna has earned considerable goodwill among Indian players through his doubles programme, which helps active players manage the costs of competing internationally by providing financial assistance and support for travelling coaches and physiotherapists.

The initiative has been particularly valuable for players who struggle to finance their participation on the professional circuit.

Paes Heads Roster, Bhupathi and Sania in Tier 2

In all, 42 male and 28 female players applied for inclusion in the roster, which was required to comprise 40 sportspersons -- 20 men and 20 women.

The 40 players form the electoral college for the election of sportsperson representatives to AITA's General Body and Executive Committee.

Leander Paes, the 1996 Olympic bronze medallist and winner of 18 Grand Slam titles across men's and mixed doubles, is the sole sportsperson listed in Tier 1.

Former world No. 1 Mahesh Bhupathi, a 12-time Grand Slam champion across men's and mixed doubles, and Sania Mirza, a six-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 in women's doubles, feature in Tier 2.

Tier 3 includes Anand Amritraj, a former India Davis Cup stalwart who helped the country reach the competition's finals in 1974 and 1987, and Zeeshan Ali, a former Davis Cup player who later served Indian tennis as a coach.

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

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

Tier 8 comprises the remaining players and contributors, including 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 among the men.

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 provides for four SOM representatives to be elected to the General Body, comprising two men and two women, and two representatives to the Executive Committee, one man and one woman.

The notification further clarifies that a person contesting for the post of SOM General Body representative can also contest for the SOM Executive Committee representative's post.

However, only elected SOM General Body representatives are eligible to vote and contest in the election for SOM representatives to the Executive Committee.

A candidate elected as an SOM Executive Committee representative cannot contest for any other post in AITA's Executive Committee.

Nominations are scheduled from October 23 to 25, ahead of the November 5 polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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