French Open 2026: Infrastructure, Money, Grassroot Programs - Vedika Anand Decodes What Indian Tennis Needs

Whenever a Grand Slam approaches, there’s that moment. You scroll through the draw. You search for Indian names and the Indian flag. You find hope in doubles. But singles? The singles draw feels quieter than it should.

This year, as the French Open 2026 prepares to unfold across the clay of Roland Garros from May 24 through June 7, it’s the same story. And yes, it stings a little, India has had its champions in tennis history, but the singles gap remains.

India’s last Grand Slam title came through Rohan Bopanna at the Australian Open 2024 in doubles. But singles? India has never won a Grand Slam singles title.

So what factors could be behind that gap?

To understand what’s actually happening beneath the surface, in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network, we spoke with Vedika Anand, a former tennis player and now a sports broadcaster working at the French Open as a panelist and commentator.

She was also the only Indian at the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), co-founded by Novak Djokovic, giving her a front-row view of the sport’s inner workings.

The Three-Part Problem

When asked what’s holding back Indian singles tennis, Vedika told Outlook India, “It’s really quite simple. It’s not easy to fix, but it’s simple to understand in the sense that there are three main problems here. One is that the developmental pipeline is missing.”

“Most countries that you see successful tennis players coming out of have a very streamlined process of grassroots-identified junior talent, sponsored junior talent created into a high-performance athlete, and then they go on and play the circuit. In India, we have a very major gap between that junior pipeline and that high-performance segment going into the professional circuit,” she added.

The first piece of this puzzle is financial. “It takes money to be a professional athlete; it takes a lot more money to be a tennis player simply because you’re training and traveling 52 weeks a year. That’s how the tennis calendar is at this point for us. So financially, yes, that’s one point,” she explained.

If you want to be a good tennis player in the junior circuit, you need to leave India. The second is infrastructure. Many of India’s most talented juniors don’t stay in India to develop.

“It’s unfortunate, but also necessary for a lot of our juniors to leave India to play junior tennis, if that’s what they want to do, right? Manas Dhamne, where is he training? Piatti Tennis Center. Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, she’s training at Rafa’s Academy,” she said.

“So the fact that we don’t have not just infrastructure, but people operating correctly inside that infrastructure, along with that financial support right here in our own country, is one of the big reasons that we’re struggling when it comes to singles representation.”

What Should Indian Tennis Fans Look Forward To

“Doubles,” she said.

“I do want to give a shoutout on the doubles side, we’ve still been doing significantly better. Creating a developmental pipeline like that is not easy. But I’m seeing a lot of former athletes starting to take a little bit of a push,” Vedika said.

“Just spent two days with Rohan Bopanna at his academy, trying to understand what he’s building there, spent some time with Leander Paes last night, trying to understand what he’s building now that he’s also part of the governance of India. And Sania Mirza comes up with the next set and her new academy.”

“There are no possible changes going to be made unless our former athletes step up. And I’m seeing our former athletes, at least in tennis, step up in a big way.”

The timeline, she believes, is realistic. “So hopefully within the next, I’d say five years, we’ll see some better progress coming up.”

The Rising Stars: Who’s Making Her Excited

So who’s actually breaking through? Who are the ones to watch? Vedika answered, “I’ve watched a lot of Manas Dhamne. I’ve been following his journey very closely. And the way Manas’ progress has happened over the last two to three years is incredible. His movement has gotten better, his groundstrokes are significantly better. I can see that the backhand cross-court has become a serious strength for him. So very excited to see what Manas comes up with,” she said.

But it’s not just the boys. “And the next is Jensi Kanabar, who’s 14 years old, left-handed. She’s made a big, big splash, at least with the Pan-Asian Under-14 Australian Open that she won. And I think she’ll be an interesting one to keep an eye on for the next two to three years.”

Indians To Watch At French Open 2026

With limited Indian representation in singles, there will be no Indian representation in the singles main draw after Karman Kaur Thandi failed to make it past the qualifiers.

Yuki Bhambri, the top-ranked Indian tennis player currently, will be part of the men’s doubles main draw at the French Open 2026, and so will his compatriot N. Sriram Balaji.

The two Indians will pair up with different partners. Bhambri will play with New Zealand’s Michael Venus, while Sriram Balaji will team up with Brazil’s Marcelo Demoliner for the upcoming edition of Roland Garros.

In the junior categories, Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi and Arnav Paparkar will be competing in the girls’ and boys’ singles events, respectively.

To support the lone singles player Karman Kaur Thandi, she said, “I do want to call out the fact that Karman is coming back from a series of injuries. And for her to be able to come back and compete on clay, which is not her primary surface, is a big deal. Movement on clay is not easy, especially coming out of injury. You’re bound to be very rusty.”

“And let’s not forget the player that she’s playing. Harmony Tan is very well known for taking out Serena Williams at the 2022 Wimbledon, which was her last ever match at Wimbledon. So kudos to Karman for coming back and actually being a representative on the women’s side, which we haven’t had in a long time regardless,” she added.

The Mirror Effect: Why Representation Matters In Tennis And Beyond

“It’s nice to look up to someone who looks like you. Sania was that for me, growing up watching her win Grand Slams. I may not have that same credibility, but I hope young girls see my work and think they can work in sport even without being athletes. If that inspires even one kid, I’ll call it a win,” Vedika said.

With the right role models, the right infrastructure, the right monetary support, and systemic backing, the work at grassroots level becomes the change. Vedika sees it taking shape right now in academies across India, with Bopanna, Paes, and Mirza building what’s needed.

That’s the blueprint she sees taking shape – slowly, unevenly, but unmistakably.