Chandigarh, Feb 3 : Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri has climbed to a career-high ranking of world No. 20 in the latest ATP Rankings, making him the first Indian men's doubles player to break into the Top 20 after Rohan Bopanna.

With a significant jump from his previous rank of 22, Bhambri has officially broken into the elite Top 20 of the ATP doubles standings for the first time in his career.

This ranking leap comes on the back of an impressive run of form for the 33-year-old, who has featured in multiple ATP Tour finals and made deep runs at Grand Slam tournaments.

Partnering with Swedenâ??s Andre Goransson, Bhambri produced an excellent showing at the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open in Melbourne, reaching the third round to collect the ranking points necessary to push him past the threshold.

After dismissing local wildcards James Duckworth and Cruz Hewitt in the opener, Bhambri and Goransson staged a dramatic comeback against Santiago Gonzalez and David Pel in the second round, winning 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. They narrowly lost to the Brazilian duo Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos in a tightly contested match in the next round, 6-7(7), 3-6.

Bhambri, who is a Roundglass Tennis Academy athlete, has been steadily progressing since the 2025 season, when he reached the US Open semifinals alongside New Zealand's Michael Venus, where they were narrowly edged out by the fourth-seeded British duo of Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski after holding a set and break advantage.

In March 2025, Bhambri claimed his first ATP 500 title at the Dubai Tennis Championships, partnering Australia's Alexei Popyrin. The pair came from a set down and saved four match points to defeat reigning US Open and Australian Open doubles champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 3-6, 7-6(12), 10-8 in a thrilling final.

Earlier in the season, Bhambri also became India's No. 1 doubles player, ending veteran Rohan Bopanna's remarkable 286-week reign at the top.

He is currently scheduled to play the ATP 500 swing in the Middle East, using these higher-tier tournaments to push toward further ATP ranking gains and later join the Indian squad for the Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands.

/IANS