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 boys’ singles quarterfinals at 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 went on to win the junior Wimbledon title in 1990.With a place in the Wimbledon boys’ singles quarterfinals already secured, Paparkar has 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 take on 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 No. 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 spends time training at the Soto Academy in Spain under coach Nigel Beavers.Paparkar is supported by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), the Mahatennis Foundation, the 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 Australian Open Under-14 Asia-Pacific Elite Trophy in Melbourne. Later that year, he became the National Under-16 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, he 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 Championships, 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 victory over junior World No. 3 Keaton Hance of the United States in the second round.Against Hance, he served six aces, saved every breakpoint he faced and conceded only 18 points on serve to register the biggest win of his career.He followed it up with another dominant performance against Tabata, firing eight aces and winning 23 of his 25 first-serve points. His fastest serve touched 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.“That match was in my head. I was like, I cannot lose like that again. I’m much better now mentally, a lot calmer… I tell myself, it’s ok, it’s just a tennis match,” a beaming Paparkar told TOI.Paparkar also noticed that Tabata was struggling physically during the match but stayed focused on his own game.“I realised that he was struggling with his serve, but also sometimes players feel better in the course of a match, so I just was focussed 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 that now as it would prevent injuries,” he said.“It has given me a better rhythm and that has led to more consistency,” he said.