Rohan Bopanna becomes oldest player to reach ATP 500 final in history

Rohan Bopanna reached first final of the year at Japan Open 2025.

Indian tennis legend Rohan Bopanna continues to defy the laws of aging on the professional tennis tour. The veteran doubles specialist, at the age of 45, has etched his name in the record books by becoming the oldest player to reach an ATP 500 event final now.

This historic moment unfolded at the Japan Open 2025, where Bopanna, partnering with Japan’s Takeru Yuzuki, powered his way to the men’s doubles final.

Bopanna’s incredible run to the final saw him overcome tough challenges, including saving three match points in their thrilling semifinal encounter against top-ranked players Evan King and Christian Harrison 4-6, 6-3, [18-16].

Earlier in the quarter-finals, the Indo-Japan pair defeated the third-seeded Argentinian duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni with a final score of 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

By doing so, Bopanna broke a record that once belonged to another Indian great, Leander Paes, who reached the Dubai ATP 500 final in 2018 at 44 years and 9 months.

For Bopanna, however, rewriting history is nothing new. In 2024, he became the oldest player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open with Matthew Ebden.

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That same season, he made headlines again by becoming the oldest male player to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era, lifting the Australian Open men’s doubles crown with Ebden.

Earlier in 2025, he further extended his record-breaking streak by becoming the oldest player to win a match at an ATP 1000 tournament at age 45, reaching the Round of 16 at the Monte Carlo Masters with Ben Shelton.

Unfortunately, despite the historic run, Bopanna is yet to win a title in this season. He endured an opening-round loss with Nicolas Barrientos at the Australian Open in January. He reached the quarterfinal in the mixed doubles in the same event with Zhang Shuai but lost the match.

At the Wimbledon in July, and US Open in August another first-round defeat shadowed the Indian veteran’s path. The Japan Open final in Tokyo, therefore, not only marks his first title match of the year but also a comeback on the big stage.

Bopanna and Yuzuki are now set to face the second-seeded Monegasque-French duo of Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the men’s doubles final at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open.

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