New Delhi, Oct 17 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 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 days 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.
Bopanna, a two-time Grand Slam champion, 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 was his last for the country.
He continued playing on the professional circuit before announcing his retirement last year.
Bopanna not at fault
=============
Bopanna can’t be faulted for entering his name since he had enquired about his eligibility from the Administrator Gita Mittal and only after an assurance from the tennis federation that he meets criteria, he had sent his application.
The possible confusion here could be that AITA felt since he had already ended his India career in 2024, he meets the criteria. However, since he kept competing on the Pro ATP tour, he was still active till October 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 crown at the 2017 French Open and the men’s doubles title at the 2024 Australian Open. He also became the oldest player to reach the world number one position 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 had applied for inclusion in the roster which needs to have 40 sportspersons — 20 men and 20 women.
The 40 players form the electoral college for the election of athlete 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 number one 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 number one 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 GB representative can also contest for the SOM EC representative’s post.
However, only elected SOM GB representatives are eligible to vote and contest in the election for SOM representatives to the EC.
A candidate elected as a SOM EC 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 in New Delhi.
The players will have to be present physically to file nominations and cast vote.
It means that players like Anand Amritraj and Sania, who live abroad, will have to travel all the way to the national capital to participate in the polls.
Proxy voting is not allowed.
(PTI News)
