New Delhi: Question – “Who is Arnav Parkar?” – quickly became popular on social media when a young Indian football player made history on Wimbledon. Paparkar became the first Indian in 36 years to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals at the prestigious tournament. The 18-year-old defeated Japan’s Ryo Tabata 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes on Wednesday to book his place in the last eight. He is the first Indian to do so since Leander Paes, who won the junior Wimbledon title in 1990.With a place in the Wimbledon boys’ singles quarterfinals already secured, Paparkar joins a 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 Jordan Lee in the quarterfinals.
Who Arnav Parkar ?
Paparkar is an 18-year-old tennis player from Pune and is currently ranked 19th in the World in the ITF junior rankings.Standing over six feet tall, Paparkar trains at the Hemant Bendre Tennis Academy under coach Prosonjit Paul. He also spends time teaching at the Soto Academy in Spain under coach Nigel Beavers.Paparkar is sponsored by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), Mahatennis Foundation, the Maharashtra government’s “Mission Lakshyvedh” initiative and corporate sponsors Aryan Pumps.
A trip to Wimbledon is a success
Paparkar’s first win 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 wild card.In 2025, he won his first world 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 Championship, a performance that helped him break into the top 20 in the world.
Big win at Wimbledon
Paparkar announced himself at Wimbledon with a stunning 6-2, 6-3 victory over the junior World No. 3 Keaton Hance of the United States in the second round.Against Hance, he used six points, made a save every time he faced and gave up just 18 points to record the biggest win of his career.She followed it up with another outstanding Tabata performance, firing eight aces and winning 23 of her 25 points to take first place. Its fastest speed was 208 km/h, while its first speed was 196 km/h.
Winning against Tabata
Parkar’s victory on Tabata was very special because the Japanese player had beaten him twice before. One of those victories came after Parkar took a 5-2 lead by decision and held on for five points.“The match was in my head. I was like, I can’t lose like that again. I’m better now mentally, I’m calm… I’m telling myself, it’s okay, it’s a game of tennis,” a beaming Paparkar told TOI.Parkar also noticed that Tabata was struggling in the game but he focused on his game.“I realized that he was struggling with his work, and sometimes players feel better in the game, so I just look at what I can do in the game,” he added.Paparkar credits coach Hemant Bendre for improving one of the strongest aspects of his game by changing his style.“If you can see that my swimming is slowing down, my coach told me in April that it is better to fix this now because it can prevent injuries,” he said.“It’s given me a better rhythm and it’s made me more versatile,” he said.
