Wimbledon, the oldest and grandest of tennis tournament, began at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Monday, July 3.
The Grand Slam event sees some of the biggest names in the game competing for glory.
In the men’s field, Novak Djokovic is vying for his fifth successive title at Wimbledon and a 24th major. He is currently tied with Serena Williams for the most number of Grand Slam titles in the Open Era (post 1968) and one shy of Margaret Court’s record (24) of most number of singles majors in the history of the sport.
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There have been Indian players in the past, like Vijay Amritraj, Ramanathan Krishnan, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, who have lit up the lawns of Wimbledon. But with the decline of tennis in India, the player field at the biggest events in the sport has thinned down.
At Wimbledon 2023, India does not have any singles players, in men’s or women’s main draw. Ankita Raina was the only Indian player who made the cut for the qualifying event. However, the 30-year-old went down 6-3, 6-7, 1-6 to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round of qualifiers.
Which Indian players are playing in Wimbledon?
Doubles veteran Rohan Bopanna is the only Indian confirmed a main draw slot. The 43-year-old will compete in the men’s doubles along with Australian partner Matthew Ebden.
Bopanna and Ebden have won two tour titles, including the ATP Masters event in Indian Wells, so far this season and are seeded sixth. At No 11, Bopanna is the highest-ranked Indian player in the ATP doubles charts.
