French Open 2025: Changing partners, Yuki Bhambri becomes India No. 1 but clay remains the real test | Tennis News

NEW DELHI: As the clay tribunal play reaches its large signifier with Roland Garros, it erstwhile again reinforces the constituent successful Indian tennis that the absorption is connected doubles and not singles. Leading the complaint connected that beforehand is Yuki Bhambri, who was erstwhile the emblem bearer successful the singles department.The year, though, didn’t statesman arsenic Bhambri mightiness person hoped. At the Australian Open, partnering Albano Olivetti, the duo bowed retired successful the archetypal round.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!What has followed is simply a drawstring of spouse changes, not by plan but by necessity, arsenic Olivetti's wounded and the volatile quality of the rankings forced Bhambri to adapt.

His travel resumed with Croatian seasoned Ivan Dodig astatine the ATP 250 successful Montpellier.

Since then, the Indian ace has had to recalibrate often. 2025 has truthful acold witnessed Bhambri partnering with 7 antithetic players successful 13 tournaments.Despite the instability, the results talk volumes. Bhambri (and Alexei Popyrin) clinched the ATP 500 rubric successful Dubai, made it to the quarters astatine Indian Wells and Miami, and became India’s No. 1 successful doubles past March, overtaking Rohan Bopanna, who had held that presumption since October 2019.

Speaking to TimesofIndia.com earlier the Madrid Open, Bhambri acknowledged the highs and lows, "I deliberation it's portion and parcel of our tennis, of rankings going up and down. I deliberation tennis rewards you for consistency, and I've had bully occurrence implicit the past fewer months oregon so, which has conscionable shown successful the rankings."

But present comes different test, the clay. On the reddish dirt, Bhambri hasn't had the champion results successful the run-up to the French Open.

Four of his past 5 clay appearances ended successful first-round exits, with Robert Galloway being his regular companion successful the latest tournaments.The 32-year-old, however, remains undeterred."When you determination connected to clay, it's a batch slower. So you person to person a batch much patience. You person to beryllium prepared to deed a batch of balls. You person to beryllium prepared to descent connected the court, find your footing, you know, beryllium prepared for the atrocious bounces astatine times.

So you're playing a precise dilatory and diligent game," helium added.The lone objection to Bhambri's clay troubles came successful Bordeaux, partnering Galloway again. The brace fought successful the ATP Challenger last but fell conscionable short, losing 6-7(1), 6-7(2) to the fourth-seeded pairing of Francisco Cabral and Lucas Miedler.

His dethroning of Bopanna ended a 286-week reign, coupled with a dependable upward inclination successful his doubles rankings since the COVID-19 pandemic, signals thing but sheer improvement. While Bhambri's enactment astatine the apical did not past agelong capable arsenic the aged warhorse Boppana has again occupied the India No.1 spot successful the latest ATP doubles rankings, the New Delhi-born, who spends his days backmost successful India mentoring kids astatine Roundglass Tennis Academy alongside his puerility manager Aditya Sachdeva, has grown much stubborn than ever."I deliberation the eventual extremity is to effort and bash amended from here, to effort and vie for much trophies.

The French (Open) coming up, Wimbledon coming up soon successful July, those would beryllium the 2 cardinal goals wherever I would truly similar to hopefully enactment my champion ft guardant and succeed," helium noted.With Roland Garros conscionable astir the corner, the elements of thing singular are there, but the large question remains: Can Bhambri, amid each the changes and challenges, find the close look connected clay? Indian tennis won’t person to hold agelong for an answer.