Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri, together with his New Zealand team Michael Venus, has made history when they progressed to the men's doubles semifinals of the US Open 2025 on Wednesday.
The duo posted a stunning victory over the 11th-seeded team of Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram, winning 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 on Court 17 in New York. At 33, Bhambri, who is ranked 32 in the world for doubles, is India's best-ranked player in the doubles category. This is his first-ever Grand Slam doubles semifinal.
Bhambri’s previous best at the US Open came in 2024 when he reached the pre-quarterfinals with French partner Albano Olivetti. A successful run this year could make him the first Indian to claim a US Open title since 2015, the year Leander Paes won mixed doubles and Sania Mirza lifted the women’s doubles trophy.
"It is every person's dream when they hold a tennis racket. When you go out there, that is what you want to do. This is what you have seen on TV. My idols growing up were Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. You see them do it. That is one of the reasons why I picked up a tennis racket, watching them win the US Open, watching them win Wimbledon," Bhambri recently said during an interview with JioHotstar.
"When you go out there, winning a Grand Slam is obviously a dream to accomplish. That is what all of us out there are trying to do. We are putting our best foot forward and hope one day we can achieve that."
Bhambri and Venus will meet the British duo Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury in the semifinals on Friday.
Some other Indian players have suffered early eliminations at Flushing Meadows this season. Experienced Rohan Bopanna, 44, and his French partner Romain Arneodo were both out in the first round. Arjun Kadhe and Ecuadorian Diego Hidalgo also succumbed in their first game, with Anirudh Chandrasekar and Vijay Sundar Prashanth losing 6-4, 6-3 to Brazilian Fernando Romboli and Australian John-Patrick Smith.
