India’s final presence at the Australian Open 2026 came to an end on Sunday when Yuki Bhambri and his Swedish partner Andre Göransson were knocked out in the third round of the men’s doubles by Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos.
The 10th-seeded Indo-Swedish pair went down 6–7 (7–9), 3–6 in a tightly contested encounter that brought the curtain down on India’s campaign at the season’s first Grand Slam. While the defeat was disappointing, Bhambri and Göransson’s run to the Round of 16 still represented one of India’s more competitive doubles performances at a major in recent years, especially given the dramatic manner in which they reached the third round.
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Facing the unseeded but highly cohesive Brazilian pair, Bhambri and Göransson were tested immediately. The opening set unfolded as a battle of fine margins, with neither pair able to gain a decisive break. Both teams served with authority, and the baseline exchanges were long and physical, with Luz and Matos showing impressive chemistry at the net. The set moved into a tiebreak, where the Brazilians proved just a little sharper in the key moments. Bhambri and Göransson fought back from behind, but crucial points at 7-7 and 8-7 swung the set in Luz and Matos’ favour, who closed it out 9-7.
That loss took the edge out of the Indo-Swedish duo. In the second set, the Brazilians increased their aggression, particularly on Göransson’s serve, forcing rushed volleys and earning an early break. Bhambri tried to rally his side with some crisp returns and deft touch at the net, but the momentum had shifted. Luz and Matos held firm, sealing the match 6-3 in just over an hour.
For Bhambri, it marked the end of a campaign in which he had been India’s last remaining senior-level hope at Melbourne Park.
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The Round of 16 appearance had been earned in dramatic fashion just two days earlier. Against Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and the Netherlands’ David Pel, Bhambri and Göransson produced one of the most resilient performances of the doubles tournament. After dropping the opening set 4–6, the match was halted for nearly five hours due to extreme heat conditions in Melbourne. At the time of the interruption, the Indo-Swedish pair were under pressure, having struggled to find rhythm against the experienced Gonzalez-Pel combination.
When play resumed, the complexion of the contest changed entirely. Bhambri and Göransson came out with renewed energy, winning the second set in a tense tiebreak 7–6 (7–5). Bhambri’s return game improved significantly, while Göransson’s net play became more assertive, disrupting their opponents’ patterns.
The decider saw Bhambri and Göransson take control. They broke early and never allowed Gonzalez and Pel back into the match, sealing a 6–3 victory that showcased their tactical maturity and mental resilience. It was one of the more impressive doubles comebacks of the first week of the tournament.
Bhambri’s Growing Presence in Doubles
At 32, Yuki Bhambri continues to reinvent himself as a doubles specialist after battling injuries that curtailed his singles career. His partnership with Göransson has steadily gained traction on the ATP Tour, and their seeding at the Australian Open reflected the consistency they have built over the past year.
Although they fell short of making a deeper run, the way Bhambri handled the pressure situations, especially in the second-round comeback, underlined his growing confidence at the Grand Slam level. Against Luz and Matos, the difference ultimately came down to a handful of points a reminder of how narrow the margins are at the elite level of men’s doubles.
Bhambri’s defeat also meant the end of India’s involvement in the main senior draw at the Australian Open 2026. N Sriram Balaji & Niki Poonacha had earlier exited the men’s doubles, while Bhambri himself was knocked out of the mixed doubles earlier in the tournament. India’s junior contingent also failed to make a breakthrough this year, with Maaya Rajeshwaran and Arnav Paparkar both bowing out in the first round of the junior Australian Open.
While the overall results will be seen as underwhelming, Bhambri’s performance offered a glimpse of India’s competitiveness in doubles a discipline where the country has traditionally found its greatest success at the highest level.
For Yuki Bhambri, the focus will now shift to the rest of the hard-court swing and the European indoor season, where he and Göransson will look to consolidate their ranking and build on the positives from Melbourne. Their ability to handle adversity, as seen in the comeback against Gonzalez and Pel, remains a valuable asset going forward.
The Australian Open may have ended earlier than hoped for India, but Bhambri’s fight and professionalism ensured that the tricolour remained in the spotlight until the very last week of the tournament a small but significant reminder that Indian tennis continues to have a presence on the biggest stages of the sport.
