NEW DELHI: The question – “Who is Arnav Paparkar?” – quickly started trending on social media after the young Indian tennis player created history at Wimbledon. Paparkar became the first Indian in 36 years to reach the men’s quarterfinals in the prestigious tournament. The 18-year-old defeated Japan’s Ryo Tabata 6-2, 6-1 in just 52 minutes on Wednesday to book his place in the last eight. He is the first Indian to achieve the feat since Leander Paes, who won the Wimbledon junior title in 1990.With a place in the Wimbledon boys’ singles quarter-finals already secured, Paparkar joined an elite list of Indian players that includes Leander Paes, Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan. He is also the first Indian since Yuki Bhambri’s 2009 US Open campaign to reach the quarterfinals of a junior Grand Slam. Paparkar will now face American qualifier Jordan Lee in the quarterfinals.
Who is Arnav Paparkar ?
Paparkar is an 18-year-old tennis player from Pune and is currently ranked world 19 in the ITF junior rankings.Standing just over six feet tall, Paparkar trains at the Hemant Bendre Tennis Academy under coach Prosonjit Paul. He also spent time training at the Soto Academy in Spain under coach Nigel Beavers.Paparkar is supported by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), Mahatennis Foundation, Maharashtra government’s ‘Mission Lakshyvedh’ initiative and corporate sponsor Aryan Pumps.
Journey to Wimbledon success
Paparkar’s first major breakthrough came in 2023 when he won the Under-14 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Elite Trophy in Melbourne. Later that year, he became the Under-16 National Champion in Kolhapur after entering the tournament as a wildcard qualifier.He made his ATP Challenger debut on his 16th birthday in 2024 after receiving a wildcard entry.In 2025, he won his first major international junior titles at the ITF J60 Manama in Bahrain and the J200 Kuala Lumpur.Earlier this year, I became the AITA Boys Under-18 National No. 1 and held the top spot for 21 consecutive weeks. He also reached the third round of the 2026 Roland Garros Junior Championship, a performance that helped him break into the world’s top 20.
Big wins at Wimbledon
Paparkar announced himself at Wimbledon with a stunning 6-2, 6-3 win over the junior World No. 3 Keaton Hance of the United States in the second round.Against Hance, she served six aces, saved every break point she faced and conceded just 18 points on serve to record the biggest win of her career.She followed that up with another dominant performance against Tabata, firing eight aces and winning 23 of her 25 first-serve points. His fastest serve hit 208 km/h, while his average first serve speed was 196 km/h.
Win against Tabata
Paparkar’s win over Tabata was extra special because the Japanese player had beaten him twice before. One of those defeats came after Paparkar had led 5-2 in the deciding set and held five match points.“This match was in my head. I was like, I can’t lose like this again. I’m much better now mentally, much calmer… I’m telling myself, it’s okay, it’s just a tennis match,” a beaming Paparkar told TOI.Paparkar also noted that Tabata was struggling physically during the match, but she remained focused on her own game.“I understood that he was struggling with his serve, but sometimes players feel better in the course of a match, so I just focused on what I could do in the match,” he added.Paparkar credits coach Hemant Bendre for improving one of the strongest parts of his game by changing his service action.“If you see now my swing is slower and fuller, my coach told me in April that it was better to work on it now because it prevents injuries,” he said.“It gave me a better pace and that led to more consistency,” he said.