India's Paris Olympic 2024 Doubles: Bopanna with Balaji or Bhambri?

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) will probably approve Rohan Bopanna's choice of partner for the Olympics in Paris, even if the selection committee will examine the pairings. Rohan Bopanna is the best doubles player in India. He will likely choose between N Sriram Balaji and Yuki Bhambri.

Top-10 player Bopanna, 44, who is ranked fourth in the world, is allowed to select any player he wants as long as he abides by the regulations.

A maximum of two teams from a single nation will compete in the men's doubles draw at the Paris Games, which will include 32 teams.

The top-10 players are allowed to choose their partners, provided that they rank inside the top-300 on the ATP and WTA rankings.

AITA sources claim that Bopanna had suggested Balaji and Bhambri to the national federation as possible TOPS partners for the Olympics in Paris.

The player often has the option of selecting his partner. The selection committee will discuss and question him about his decision. In response to a question on whether the national federation will let Bopanna play with the partner of his choosing or force it upon him, AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar told PTI that "whoever Rohan wants to play with, will be considered positively."

In the run-up to the Roland Garros, where the action takes place during the Summer Olympics starting on July 27, both Balaji and Bhambri have achieved some respectable successes on clay.

In Indian tennis, there has frequently been controversy over the nominations for the Olympics or other multi-sport tournaments. Leander Paes was made to play with Vishnu Vardhan after Mahesh Bhupathi and Bopanna declined to partner with him in 2012. This refusal caused a major scandal at the time.

Paes withdrew from the continental event at the 2018 Asian Games two days prior to the commencement of the tennis tournament, citing his lack of a specialized partner.

The organizers plan to accept 56 direct entrants in a draw of 64. Three men's quotas, out of six ITF spots, will be given to the champions of the Asian, African, and Pan-American Games continental competitions.