Yuki Bhambri (born 4 July 1992) is an Indian professional tennis player who currently specializes in doubles. He has an ATP career-high doubles ranking of world No. 42 achieved on 23 September 2024. He also has a career-high singles ranking of No. 83 achieved on 16 April 2018.
He is a former junior no. 1[1] and winner of the 2009 Australian Open Junior Championship.[2] He is the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open title and the fourth Indian in history to capture a junior singles title at a Grand Slam championship.[3] He represents India in the Davis Cup.[4]
Personal and early life
He started playing tennis at the age of 6 years. His father is Chander and mother is Indu. He is the youngest in the family. His sisters are Ankita Bhambri and Sanaa Bhambri, and he is the cousin of Prerna Bhambri and Prateek Bhambri, all of whom are professional tennis players. His early career tennis coach was Aditya Sachdeva.[3][5] He is currently being coached by Stephen Koon, Impact Tennis Academy, and is accompanied by trainer Abhimanu Singh & Ahmad Nasir.[6]
Junior career
Bhambri reached the junior No. 1 ranking in the world in February 2009.[1] He won the Junior Australian Open Boys singles title in 2009 by beating Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas of Greece in the finals.
Yuki concluded his season by making history as the first Indian winner of the prestigious Orange Bowl at age 16, beating Jarmere Jenkins of the U.S. in straight sets.
In 2009, Bhambri began the year by winning the junior Australian Open, defeating Alexandros Georgoudas from Greece in the final in only 57 minutes. Throughout the tournament he dropped only one set, becoming the first Indian singles winner of the junior Australian Open and the fourth Indian in history to capture a junior singles grand slam title.[7]
Professional career
2009: First ITF title and Davis cup debut
Yuki obtained a wild card spot in the doubles main draw pairing with Harsh Mankad at the Chennai Open. At the same event he received a wild card spot in the singles qualifying draw in the Chennai Open where he lost to compatriot Sanam Singh in three sets.
Yuki also obtained a wild card position for the 2010 Australian Open qualifying draw as an additional reward for his win at the 2009 Junior Australian Open.
After his win in the Orange Bowl, Yuki received a spot in the main draw of the Sony Ericsson Open where he lost to Diego Junqueira in the first round. Following his showing at the Sony Ericsson Open, Yuki played in an ITF Futures Event in New Delhi, India, where he won the tournament, becoming the youngest Indian to win a Futures event; Yuki continued this winning streak by capturing the title of the following Futures event held in the same venue. Yuki made his Davis Cup debut against South Africa in the World Group play-offs.
2010: Youth Olympic Games Silver medal
In August, Bhambri advanced to the finals of the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore by defeating Damir Džumhur in three sets. He played Colombian Juan Sebastián Gómez in the finals. After suffering cramps in his thigh, he conceded the match with the score at 1–4 in the third set. This gave him a silver medal at the Youth Olympics.
A week later, he defeated Amir Weintraub in straight sets to win the first ATP Challenger singles title of his career in Fergana, Uzbekistan on 20 May 2012.[9]
2013: Second Challenger singles title
He reached his first ATP Challenger final of the season at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He lost to Chinese Taipei's Lu Yen-hsun in the final.[10]
He won his first ATP Challenger singles title of the season and the second of his career at Traralgon, Australia, defeating American Bradley Klahn in the final.[11]
Later in the year, Bhambri won two medals for India at the 2014 Asian Games. He won bronze in the men's singles category, losing to Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in the semifinals.[15] He also won bronze in the men's doubles category with Divij Sharan as his partner. The pair lost in the semifinals to the Korean pair of Lim Yong-kyu and Chung Hyeon.[16]
2015: Top 100
Starting the year as 315th-ranked player in the ATP rankings, Bhambri qualified for the 2015 Australian Open, but lost to Great Britain's Andy Murray in the first round in straight sets.[17]
He then entered the 2015 Delhi Open as a wildcard and reached the finals, losing to Somdev Devvarman in three sets 3–6, 6–4, 6–0. He maintained his good start of the season and reached the semifinals of the Kazan Kremlin Cup. On 13 September, he defeated Wu Di in the finals of the Shanghai Challenger in three sets 3–6, 6–0, 7–6(7–3) to win his first title of the season, which helped him reach no. 125 in the ATP rankings. He reached the finals at the OEC Kaohsiung, losing to Hyeon Chung in straight sets 7–5, 6–4.
He broke into the top 100 for the first time in his career on 19 October 2015. He won his first title in India on 31 October, defeating Evgeny Donskoy in straight sets 6–2, 7–6(7–4) in Pune. As a result of his good run, he rose to a career-best ranking of 88 on 9 November. He finished the year ranked 93rd.
2016: Struggles with injury
Bhambri entered the main draw of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year. He lost in the first round to sixth-seeded Tomáš Berdych in straight sets.[18]
In July, Bhambri reached the quarterfinals at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. This was his second quarterfinal on the ATP World Tour, and his first at an ATP 500-level event. Bhambri defeated Stefan Kozlov in the first round and shocked 6th seed and defending champion Gaël Monfils in the second round. He then defeated Guido Pella to reach the quarterfinals where he lost to eventual finalist Kevin Anderson.[22]
2018: Return to top 100 in singles, French Open doubles win
Yuki started the year with the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune where he entered the main draw. He defeated compatriot Arjun Kadhe in the opening round but lost to Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round.[25] He then entered the qualifying draw of the Australian Open and qualified for the main draw for the third time. He could not proceed further, losing to Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets 7–6(7–4), 6–4, 6–3 in the first round.[26] In February, Yuki entered the inaugural Chennai Challenger. He reached the final but lost to top seed Jordan Thompson in 3 sets.[27]
In March, he entered the Indian Wells Masters and qualified for the main draw. He defeated Nicolas Mahut in the opening round. In the second round he upset then-world no. 12 Lucas Pouille in straight sets. He eventually lost to Sam Querrey in the third round.[28] Bhambri carried his good form to the next masters at the
Miami Open where he qualified for main draw. There he defeated Mirza Bašić in the first round before bowing out in the second round with a loss to Jack Sock.[29]
In April, Bhambri won the first Challenger title of the season at the Santaizi Challenger by defeating compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan. With this win he returned to the top 100 in the singles rankings.[30]
On the back of his improved rankings, Yuki earned direct entry into the 2018 French Open. This was his first match in the main draw at the event. He lost in the first round to Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets.[31] He also entered the doubles draw with compatriot Divij Sharan. The pair advanced to the second round where they lost to second seeds and eventual finalists Oliver Marach and Mate Pavić.[32]
In August, Yuki opted to play at the 2018 US Open instead of representing India at the Asian Games.[34] With his participation at the US Open he completed playing in the main draw at all four grand slams. But he could not earn his maiden win at a slam event, losing in the opening round to Pierre-Hugues Herbert.[35]
Soon after the US Open, Yuki started struggling with injuries. The correct diagnosis for which was made by Rafael Nadal's doctor.[36]
2021: Brief return to tour
After being inactive for over two and a half years due to injury, Bhambri returned to the tour at the 2021 Singapore Open when he received a protected ranking spot into the main draw. He lost in the first round to wildcard Matthew Ebden in straight sets.
One week later, Bhambri won an ITF doubles title in India partnering Saketh Myneni. It would be his first title win in almost three years and the result would push him back into the ATP rankings in doubles.
Bhambri received a protected ranking into the qualifying draw of the 2021 Dubai Open. There, he defeated compatriots Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan to qualify for the main draw where he lost in the first round to Aljaž Bedene in three sets. The result would push him back into the ATP rankings in singles.
Bhambri partnered Matthew Ebden in doubles at the 2021 Orlando Open. The pair won their first round match but withdrew from their second round match due to an injury. Bhambri ended the season with a title at ITF India Futures 6 with compatriot Saketh Myneni defeating compatriots S D Prajwal Dev and Rishi Reddy 6–4, 7-6(6) in straight sets.[37]
He won his second title at the 2024 BMW Open with Albano Olivetti.[46] Following a fourth career final at the 2024 ATP Lyon Open with Olivetti, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 51 on 10 June 2024. He reached the top 50 in the doubles rankings two weeks later on 24 June 2024.
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.