Wimbledon History: Arnav Paparkar Becomes First Indian In 36 Years To Reach Boys’ Singles Quarterfinals By Leander Paes | Tennis news

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 took a quieter path. He climbed the ladder step by step, starting with lower-level international tournaments in India before moving through the Asian circuit and eventually to the higher levels. The 18-year-old started playing junior Grand Slams this year, his final season in the category, and has improved with each tournament. On Wednesday, that steady rise reached a pivotal moment when Paparkar became the first Indian in 36 years to reach the Wimbledon boys’ singles quarter-finals, since Leander Paes lifted the title in 1990.The 6ft 1in Indian, ranked 19th in the junior rankings, defeated 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 the tide against Lee, having lost both previous meetings, including their last clash 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 woman before Paparkar to reach the quarterfinals of a junior Grand Slam. Tabata, who had beaten Paparkar twice before, including 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 progressed, he struggled with his serve and eventually stopped extending into his court coverage.“That match was in my head. I thought, I can’t lose like that again. Now I’m much better mentally, much calmer… I tell myself, it’s okay, it’s just a tennis match,” said a beaming Paparkar.Paparkar was aware of the physical struggle of the Japanese player.“I understood he was struggling with his serve, but sometimes players feel better as the match goes on, so I was just focused on what I could do in the match,” he added.Paparkar produced another impressive serve, firing eight aces and winning 23 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 serves 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 serve by tweaking his action.“If you can see that my swing is slower and more complete now, my coach told me in April that I better work on it now because it would prevent injuries,” he said. “It gave me a better rhythm and it led to more consistency.”