Wimbledon history: Arnav Paparkar becomes first Indian in 36 years to reach boys’ singles quarterfinals by Leander Paese

Arnav Vijay Paparkar serves a backhand against Joshua Craze of Great Britain during their boys’ singles first round match on day six of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships on July 4, 2026 in London, England. (Photo/Getty) Arnav Paparkar chose a quieter path. He gradually rose through the ranks, starting with lower-level international tournaments in India, before moving to the Asian circuit and finally to the higher levels. The 18-year-old started playing Grand Slam junior events this year in his final season in the category and has improved with each tournament. On Wednesday, that steady rise reached a watershed moment when Paparkar became the first Indian in 36 years to reach the boys’ singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon since Leander Paes lifted the title in 1990.The 6ft 1in Indian, ranked 19th in the junior rankings, dispatched Japan’s Ryo Tabata 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes to book a place in the quarter-finals where he will face American qualifier Jordan Lee. Paparkar will be looking to turn things around against Lee, having lost both previous meetings, including their last encounter at the J300 Roehampton in June.Yuki Bhambri, who won the junior Australian Open in 2009, reached the quarterfinals of the US Open the same year and remains the last Indian before Paparkar to reach the quarterfinals of a junior grand slam. Tabata, who had beaten Paparkar twice before, once after the Indian led 5-2 in the deciding set and held five match points, was not at his physical best. As the match went on, he struggled with his serve and eventually stopped extending himself in court coverage.“That match was in my head. I was thinking, I can’t lose like this anymore. I’m mentally much better now, much calmer… I’m thinking, it’s okay, it’s just a tennis match,” said a beaming Paparkar.Paparkar was aware of the Japanese player’s physical problems.“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 produced another impressive performance, firing eight aces and winning 23 out of 25 points on his first serve. His fastest serve of the day was 208 km/h in the second set, while the average speed of his first serve was 196 km/h.The Indian has two training bases, at home in Pune, where he works with Hemant Bendre, and at the Soto Academy in Spain, where he trains under Nigel Beavers. Paparkar credits Bendre with improving his delivery by improving his 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.