Sumit Nagal
Professional Tennis Player
Sumit Nagal, born August 16, 1997, in Jhajjar, Haryana, is India's premier male tennis player and a trailblazer in Indian singles tennis. Initially drawn to cricket, Nagal was introduced to tennis by his father, a school teacher, at age eight. His talent was quickly recognized by legendary doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi, who inducted him into the "Apollo Mission 2018" project aimed at nurturing India's first Grand Slam singles champion. Nagal's junior career peaked in 2015 when he partnered with Vietnam's Lý Hoàng Nam to win the Wimbledon boys' doubles title, becoming the sixth Indian to claim a junior Grand Slam trophy.
Nagal's professional breakthrough came at the 2019 US Open, where he courageously took the first set off Roger Federer before falling in four sets. In 2020, he became the first Indian in seven years to win a Grand Slam main draw singles match, defeating Bradley Klahn. His resilience and baseline grinding style have earned him comparisons to the sport's great defensive players. In 2024, Nagal achieved a career-defining milestone at the Australian Open, upsetting 31st seed Alexander Bublik to become the first Indian since 1989 to defeat a seeded player at a Grand Slam.
Further establishing his credentials, Nagal became the first Indian to win an ATP Masters 1000 match on clay at the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters, defeating Matteo Arnaldi. He has also represented India with distinction at the Olympics and Davis Cup. With a career-high ranking of World No. 68 achieved in July 2024 and multiple ATP Challenger titles to his name, Nagal continues breaking barriers for Indian tennis, driven by his stated goal of proving India excels beyond cricket.
