Yuki Bhambri’s tennis career began with the aspirations every budding player holds. The Indian tennis star even reached a career-high singles ranking of 83 in 2018 before his journey took an unexpected turn.

A partial tear in his knee tendon halted his progress, forcing him into a prolonged recovery period. As days turned into months, Yuki feared his career was slipping away.

Come 2025. The 32-year-old is already the talk of the town with a glittering men’s doubles Dubai Open trophy – a silver boat sitting atop a plinth – displayed prominently at his residence.

“I switched to doubles, hoping that will prolong my career. It’s obviously not as strenuous as playing singles. Hopefully, it will help me achieve some goals on the Grand Slam and ATP level. Hopefully, I can have a good long successful career,” Yuki told Read in an exclusive interview.

Like most tennis players, Yuki started his career with a primary focus on singles. But fate had different plans.

“Everyone starts off as a singles player, wants to perform well. I was the same. I did know that down the line, at some stage in my career, I’d like to play doubles. Once I had my knee injury, I was finding it difficult to recover. In fact, I was close to being done with tennis. I couldn’t really recover,” he added.

Yuki underwent treatment in the US and finally returned to the court in March 2021.

Opting for doubles not only extended his career but also brought him success.

Today, he stands at a career-high doubles ranking of 39 and will soon compete at the Miami Open, starting on March 18.

“A little bit of improvement with my knee enabled me to continue to play doubles. The goal is to keep improving in rankings and to try and maximize whatever tournaments I get. I’m at Indian Wells now. I play Miami. These are the top-level events I want to be at and perform well at,” said Yuki, who, along with his partner André Göransson, are currently the first alternates in the Indian Wells doubles draw.

What’s interesting is his family and friends’ response to the trophy.

“My family and friends were happy about me winning Dubai. Funnily enough, a lot of them were excited to see the trophy. Usually, it’s a big boat trophy that you’ve seen on TV for so many years with a lot of players winning it. Usually, it doesn’t happen. There’s not much excitement seeing a super cool trophy,” Yuki added.

Dubai Open triumph

Yuki and his Australian partner, Alexei Popyrin, won the doubles title after a thrilling match, finishing 3-6, 7-6, 10-8 against the second-seeded duo of Harri Heliovaara from Finland and Henry Patten from Great Britain at the Dubai Open..

“It was just a good combination. We had to work hard from the first round, but that’s how doubles is. Most matches are always close due to the score and format. It was nice to be able to overcome that pressure and stay calm throughout the tournament,” Yuki, reflecting on his win, said.

Dubai marked Indian’s first ATP 500 tournament and fourth career ATP doubles title. This achievement was made even more special by defeating the current leaders of the 2025 ATP World Tour circuit.

“I think the buildup was good. I’ve been doing well at the 250 level. I also ended up playing a 500 semifinal in Doha the week before. I feel my level was there. It was just about taking that next step and trying to win. That’s what finally clicked in Dubai. I’m happy to get my biggest tour title. It was tough,” he said.

“Every match was tough with Popyrin, but he’s a good player. He handles his side pretty well and serves well too. We were having a lot of fun on the court, which made it easier to play. Beating number one, number two in the world we focused on our side of the court,” he added.

Popyrin has an ATP singles ranking of 23 and is currently the no.2 player in Australia.

A significant doubles step

March proved to be a promising month for Indian doubles tennis with as many as three Indians – Yuki Bhambri, Rithvik Bolipalli, and Anirudh Chandrasekar – lifting men’s doubles titles in three different tournaments. Everyone is currently enjoying their highest career rankings.

“The doubles dream project has been extremely beneficial. Having a coach, physio, or trainer traveling with you makes a big difference. I don’t think all of us would have been here sitting at career highs if it wasn’t for the project,” he said.

Yuki has a stable doubles partner in Albano Olivetti. The Frenchman is recovering from a ruptured tendon after this year’s Australian Open. Together, they won two ATP titles (Munich and Gstaad) and made four finals on the ATP Tour.

In Doha, Yuki partnered with 7-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Dodig. The duo reached the semifinals, defeating the world No. 1 pair in the quarterfinals, before losing to the British duo of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

“With Dodig, in Doha, it was a great experience. I played with him in Montpelier a few weeks ago. It’s nice to play with a Grand Slam champion. How he goes about things, how he handles situations, what he thinks on crucial points. It’s just nice to be on the same side of the court and a great learning experience,” he said.

The road to the Dubai Open title, however, began quite casually.

After Olivetti’s injury, Yuki was left searching for a temporary partner when he came across Australia’s Alexei Popyrin — currently ranked No.23 in singles and Australia’s second-best player.

“I was looking for a partner after Olivetti got injured. Dodig’s partner also got injured. That’s how we started playing together. We played a few weeks with Popyrin. I just took a chance knowing that he (Popyrin) is based in Dubai. Just took a chance with that and asked him, and he was gracious enough to accept,” he said.

On adjusting with different partners on the Tour, Yuki said, “You try. It’s difficult to keep adapting and not knowing too many strengths and weaknesses of your partner. But you try and do your best in the end. It’s always about focusing on my side of the court and trusting my partner will take care of his side,” he concluded.

From nearly calling it quits in 2019 to lifting his first ATP 500 trophy in 2025, Yuki Bhambri’s career turnaround is nothing short of inspiring.

With a promising season ahead, he now sets his sights on achieving greater glory in the world of doubles tennis.