Who is Arnav Paparkar? Meet the first Indian in 36 years to reach the boys’ singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon

Arnav Paparkar (Image credit: Instagram) NEW DELHI: 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 round of 16. He is the first Indian to do so since Leander Paese, who won the Wimbledon junior title in 1990.With a place in the boys’ singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon already secured, Paparkar joins an elite list of Indian players that includes Leander Paese, 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 No. 19 in the ITF Junior World Ranking.A little 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 Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), Mahatennis Foundation, Maharashtra Government’s ‘Mission Lakshyvedh’ initiative and corporate sponsor Aryan Pumps.

The road to success at Wimbledon

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 under-16 national champion in Kolhapur after entering the tournament as a wild card qualifier.He made his ATP Challenger debut on his 16th birthday in 2024 after receiving a wild card.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, helping him break into the world top 20.

Big win at Wimbledon

Paparkar announced himself at Wimbledon with a stunning 6-2, 6-3 win over junior world number one Keaton Hance of the United States in the second round.Against Hance, he served six aces, saved every break point he faced and won just 18 points on serve to record 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 reached 208 km/h, while his average first serve speed was 196 km/h.

Win over Tabata

Paparkar’s win over Tabata was extra special because the Japanese had beaten him twice before. One of those defeats came after Paparkar was leading 5-2 in the deciding set and held five match points.“That match was in my head. I was thinking, I can’t lose like this again. I am mentally much better now, much calmer… I am thinking, it’s okay, it’s just a tennis match,” a beaming Paparkar told TOI.Paparkar also noticed that Tabata struggled physically during the match but was focused on his own game.“I realized that he has problems with his serve, but also sometimes players feel better during the match, so I just focused on what I can do in the match,” he added.Paparkar credits coach Hemant Bendre for improving one of the strongest parts of his game by changing his delivery action.“If you can see that my swing is slower and fuller now, my coach told me in April that it’s better to work on it now because it will prevent injuries,” he said.“It gave me a better rhythm and that led to more consistency,” he said.