The India-Australia men’s doubles tennis duo of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, the Australia Open champions this year, announced that they would go separate ways after two great years as a team. The pair first teamed up in January 2023 and now end their association with a victory over Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in their final group match of the ATP Finals 2024 on Friday. However, it was not enough for them to reach the semifinals.

“Obviously, we were already out but to at least get one final win together, it was a great way to finish the partnership and it’s been an amazing two years,” Ebden reflected on the partnership in Turin, according to Olympics.com.

During their partnership, the duo secured three trophies, the Australian Open grand slam title and ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells 2023 and Miami Open 2024.

Bopanna and Ebden also won the Qatar Open last year and reached the final of the US Open as well last year. They also hit the top of the doubles rankings this year following the Australian Open triumph.

“To finish on a win and at least get one win here at the ATP Finals, I think was fitting or deserving maybe. It was really nice to share one more big moment,” the Australian tennis player, who secured the Paris Olympics gold with John Peers, added.

Ebden said that the duo were planning to part ways last year but decided to stick together for the 2024 season.

“I have to thank him (Bopanna) for his amazing effort and commitment and dedication at 44 years old. It’s been a great effort. I wish him all the best for the future,” Ebden added.

Bopanna will once again reunite with his former Croatian partner, Ivan Dodig, 39, for the 2025 tennis season.

India’s Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia ended their successful partnership with a dramatic win over Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in their final group match of the ATP Finals in Turin on Friday. The Indian-Australian pair triumphed 7-5, 6-7(6), 10-7, closing out their 2024 season with a thrilling victory in Turin. Although already eliminated from the semifinal contention after two earlier losses, Bopanna and Ebden came out with intensity. They played solidly despite a tense second-set tie-break, where they squandered two match points.

However, the pair showed resilience, eventually sealing the win in a Match Tie-break in a 1-hour, 42-minute clash.

The victory was highlighted by Bopanna and Ebden’s serving strength, as they hit a combined 14 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats. This win also levelled their ATP head-to-head record with Krawietz and Puetz at 2-2, adding a positive note to the end of their partnership.

Bopanna and Ebden’s partnership, which began in January 2023, has been highly successful. Together, they won four tour-level titles, including the prestigious Australian Open this year, and both reached No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings at different points during their time together.

For Krawietz and Puetz, the loss was bittersweet. Despite the defeat, the German pair’s 2-1 record in group play means they will progress to the semifinals on their ATP Finals debut.

The outcome of their group will be determined after the result of the evening’s match between Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic and Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori, which will decide whether Krawietz and Puetz finish first or second in the Bob Bryan Group.

Ace Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian men’s doubles partner Matthew Ebden started their ATP Finals campaign on a losing note, suffering a straight-set defeat in a group stage match. Bopanna and Ebden were defeated by the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 2-6, 3-6 in just 56 minutes in Turin on Monday. The Indo-Australian pair had defeated their opponents in this year’s Australian Open final. Bolelli and Vavassori, the fourth seeds, dominated from the outset, breaking their rivals in the second game.

A double fault by the Indo-Australian pair in the eighth game allowed the Italians to secure another break of serve, further thwarting any hopes of a comeback.

Buoyed by the local support, Bolelli and Vavassori continued their domination in the second set as well, taking the crucial break in the fourth game.

Bopanna, who is appearing in the tournament for the fourth time, and Ebden, struggled to match their Italian opponents, failing to earn even a single break point throughout the match.

The serving woes added to their difficulties, as they won only 58% of points (19 out of 33) on their first serve and 47% (7 out of 15) on their second.

In contrast, the Italians were far more efficient, winning 89% of points on their first serve (31 out of 35) and 83% on their second (5 out of 6).

Additionally, Bopanna and Ebden committed two double faults, both of which led to breaks of serve.

The defeat marked Bopanna and Ebden’s third consecutive defeat to the Italians this year.

Bopanna and Ebden lie fourth in the Bob Bryan Group. They will take on top seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Croatian Mate Pavic in their next group game on Wednesday.

They had reached the semifinals in the last edition.

Premier doubles player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have clinched a spot in the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals, marking the Indian’s fourth appearance in the tournament. The Indo-Aussie duo secured their place after Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow were eliminated at the Rolex Paris Masters, finalising the 2024 field. Joining Bopanna and Ebden in Turin’s elite line-up will be Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic, Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz, Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten, Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic, Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos, Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori, and Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson.

The ATP Finals, set for November 10-17 at the Inalpi Arena, feature only the top eight doubles teams globally.

Bopanna and Ebden launched their season with a bang, winning the Australian Open as the Indian became the oldest man at 43 years, 331 days to become a world No 1.

Bopanna and Ebden later added a Miami Open title to their resume.

They also reached the final in Adelaide and the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

This marks their second consecutive year qualifying for the ATP Finals; in 2023, they reached the semi-finals in Turin before being defeated by Granollers and Zeballos.

For Bopanna, this event holds special significance as he eyes his maiden ATP Finals title.

Previously, he finished as the finalist in 2012 with Mahesh Bhupathi and again in 2015 alongside Florin Mergea.

Bopanna’s ATP Finals journey began in 2011 with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. 

India’s challenge in the men’s doubles event of the US Open ended with the defeat of Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden in the third round in New York. The second seeded Bopanna-Ebden pair lost 1-6 5-7 to the 16th seed Argentine combo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in 66 minutes on Sunday night. Bopanna and Ebden had won the Australian Open early this year. The 44-year-old Bopanna has already announced retirement from Davis Cup and it will be interesting to see if he will return to defend his Australian Open crown in January 2025.

Sumit Nagal had exited the men’s singles with an opening round defeat while Yuki Bhambri and N Sriram Balaji earlier lost in men’s doubles at different stages of the tournament.

Bopanna’s challenge is still alive in the mixed doubles event with Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi and interestingly, he and Ebden will now be up against each other.

Ebden and Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova are seeded fourth in the mixed doubles.

Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Edben crashed out in the Wimbledon men’s doubles second round after straight set defeat against Hendrick Jebens and Constantin Frantzen in London on Saturday. The second seeded Bopanna and Ebden went down to their unseeded German opponents 3-6, 6-7 (4) in little over an hour. The Australian Open winners Bopanna and Ebden conceded a break in the first set and it was enough for Jebens and Frantzen to go ahead in the match.

The match suspended due to rain when the second set was level at five games. There was no service break in the set.

Upon the resumption, the match drifted into the tie-breaker where the Jebens Frantzen took a comfortable 4-1 lead, which they never squandered.

Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden overcame fighting Brazilians Orlnado Luz and Marcelo Zormann in a testing three-set opening round at the French Open in Paris on Sunday. The Brazilians made life tough for the Australian Open champions who scraped through 7-5 4-6 6-4 in two hours and seven minutes. Entering as an eighth alternate pair, Zormann and Luz would not have hoped to feature in the tournament but a spate of withdrawals cleared their way. They threatened to upset the second seeds but Bopanna and Ebden had the experience to shift momentum at crucial stages of the match.

The second seeds raced to a 4-1 lead, riding on a double break but the Brazilian put up a great fight to reel off four straight games to make it 5-5 in the opening set.

From there on, the Indo-Australian combine found a way to break Luz with Bopanna firing his returns from the baseline and Ebden supporting him with well-timed volley winners. The Australian served out the set with ease.

Zormann was broken in the opening game of the second set with Ebden and Zormann locking in a intense baseline rally in which the Brazilian erred on 30-40 to hand the advantage to the seeded team.

More drama followed, as now Bopanna was down 0-40. He saved the first two break chances with some accurate serving but Zormann blasted a winner on the third to make it even steven.

Ebden’s serve came under tremendous pressure in game four that featured six deuce points in nine intense minutes. The Australian finally held the serve with an overhead smash.

Ebden was put under pump again when he returned to serve in game eight. He began with a double fault and then hammered one forehand return on the net. Luz dispatched a volley winner at net on Ebden’s return on the next point to earn plenty of break chances.

The second seeds saved the first but Ebden double faulted again as the Brazilians led 5-3.

Luz came out to serve for the set and parity and had four set points to finish it but Bopanna was splendid — both at net and from baseline — as the second seeds broke again to bounce back.

However, the Indian dropped serve for the third time in the match and it was one-set all.

A break of serve in the fifth game gave Bopanna and Ebden advantage and they did not squander the chance this time with the Indian closing out the match.