Sumit Nagal rediscovers himself again after injury setbacks

The India No. 1 lifted the Rome ATP Challenger title on April 30 to script history.

Tennis is an unpredictable sport. Singles tennis in India has been experiencing a steady decline, despite a few achievements along the way. For more than a decade there was no Indian singles player ranked in the ATP top 300. But with Sumit Nagal's historic win in Rome, which made him the first Indian to win an ATP Challengers Single title on European Clay, chances of a revival look bright.

On March 20, 2023, Nagal became India's No 1 singles player yet again. A series of injuries and a right hip surgery in 2021 kept him away from the sport for a lengthy period of four years. During the period of four years, Nagal struggled with numerous injuries, surgery, and Covid-19. At the Balewadi Tennis Stadium in Pune during an ATP Challenger, Sumit Nagal described how a hip surgery took away from him the joy of competing on his favourite tennis surface - The Clay Courts.

Before his win at Rome ATP Challenger, Sumit Nagal had last won an ATP Challenger title in Buenos Aires back in 2019. Nagal, who is placed 347th in the singles ATP tennis rankings, made it to the main draw in Rome Open with wins over Italian star Matteo Berretini’s younger brother Jacopo 6-4, 6-1, before pulling off an upset over second-seed Viktor Durasovic 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 of Norway.

That earned him a spot in the main draw where he was to face fourth-seeded Italian Francesco Maestrelli. Nagal won that match 6-2, 6-4, and then picked up wins over Fausto Tabacco 6-3, 6-0 and Max Houkes 7-5, 6-0 in the second round and quarter-final respectively. In the semi-final, the Indian battled very hard for 2 hours and 32 minutes against Belgium’s Joris De Loore, the eighth seed, before coming from behind to win 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. In the final, he beat Dutchman de Jong 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 42 minutes to win his third career title.

The 25-year-old Jhajjar-born Nagal also became the first Indian man to win a Challenger Tour final since Ramkumar Ramanathan in 2021 in Manama. The win also marked the first time that an Indian tennis player won a clay court ATP Challenger event on European soil. With this title, Nagal, who reached a career-high 122 in 2020, is expected to jump almost 100 places to 254th when the ATP rankings are next updated.

Sumit Nagal was out of action for the last four years due to several injuries. His progress faced obstacles, Nagal struggled to regain his level, rhythm, and movement on court after the lengthy injury layoff. Showing consistent performance and growth during the ATP Challenger in Chennai, Banglore and Pune this year, brought more positive signs.

Nagal, training under former India No. 1 Somdev Devvarman, advanced to the semi-final of the Chennai Challenger in February. The Support of the Coach, the fans and tennis lovers on the home ground brought power, strength and positivity to the Indian No. 1 in men's tennis.

Since returning to court, the Indian star boy has played in nine tournaments in 2023 producing excellent results. With this title. win, the belief is returning that his body will hold up for the brutal grind of the game in future tournaments. With this, current India No. 1 has continued to believe in his game, struggled and has defeated his injuries, weakness, fear and is now focused more on the process and performance. Also, his body has started to support him as well.