Shortly after the French Open concluded this year, the Olympic Channel published “Doubles Trouble: Rohan Bopanna’s Olympic Journey.” In addition to chronicling his men’s partner selection process for the Olympics, the documentary also serves as a mini biopic of Bopanna. He is a staple of international competitions for India at the Davis Cup and is currently ranked 4th on the ATP tour. Bopanna held the record as the oldest man to ever achieve the #1 ATP doubles ranking.
As a person who streams a lot of doubles, I am familiar with Bopanna’s recent success and achievements. However, the only previous time I have specifically written about him came in “Rohan Bopanna is a Good Sport.” As the title implies, that post is a positive take on the player. However, I have to confess that until Doubles Trouble, I couldn’t have provided much detail about him beyond what was outlined in the opening paragraph of this post.
In both doubles rankings and physical stature, Bopanna stands head and shoulders above the other Indian players. Consequently, his eventual selection of Sriram Balaji elevated that player to an Olympian. It is a life-changing honor and distinction that wouldn’t have come to Balaji this year on his own merits. More importantly, Bopanna wanted to win a medal, and Doubles Trouble provides insight into his systematic thinking involved in that process.
The producers of the documentary may have anticipated that it might have a similar feel to “The Bachelor,” the ABC dating and relationship reality series. While Bopanna’s four candidates appeared on screen to discuss their own merits and Olympic aspirations, they were also effusive in their praise for their competitors. Essentially, they were all too darn polite to advocate strongly for themselves. Additionally, all four have a reverence for Bopanna, who has done a lot for tennis in India and doubles in particular.
Doubles Trouble: Rohan Bopanna’s Olympic Journey deepened my appreciation of the challenges he has overcome and his unwavering commitment to building the sport in India. He is portrayed as a personable and nice guy, and the documentary piqued my interest in what is likely his final pursuit of Olympic glory. I was sad to see his quest cut short by a tough draw and an early-round loss to Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Gael Monfils.
Doubles Trouble: Rohan Bopanna’s Olympic Journey can be streamed for free at Olympics.com.
