Sumit Nagal appeals to Chinese embassy after visa rejection threatens Australian Open hopes

China will host the Asia-Pacific playoffs for wildcard entry into next year’s Australian Open.

Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal faces an unexpected obstacle in his quest to play the Australian Open wildcard play-offs. This year’s edition will be hosted in Chengdu, China, and the annual tournament sees top players from the Asia Pacific compete for a coveted wildcard in the 2026 Australian Open main draw.

Nagal, India’s top-ranked tennis player, is looking to fly to China to participate in the play-offs scheduled between November 24 and 29.

The 28-year-old Nagal’s chances of making it to China and subsequently the 2026 Australian Open have suffered a setback with the rejection of his visa.

Given the time-sensitive nature of the issue, Nagal has floated an appeal on X (formerly Twitter), to draw the attention of Xu Feihong, the Chinese Ambassador to India, and embassy spokesperson Yu Jing, in hopes of addressing the visa denial.

The scheduled play-off will have 16-player men’s and women’s singles events and include eight-player men’s and women’s qualifying draws.

It will also feature 12-team men’s and women’s doubles events. The Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu, China, is scheduled to host the proceedings.  

Also Read: Indian tennis players to appear in all four grand slams singles main draw in a calendar year

Nagal reached the second round of the 2024 Australian Open, becoming the first Indian man to defeat a seeded player (Alexander Bublik) at a Grand Slam since 1989.

He also went through qualifying to reach the second round of the 2024 ATP Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo. In July 2024, he reached a career-high rank of No. 68 in the ATP.

The Indian returned in 2025 for his second main draw appearance in Melbourne, but bowed out to Tomas Machac in the opening round in straight sets.

Currently ranked World No. 275, Nagal will have to fight his way through qualifying in 2026, should he find himself unable to compete in Chengdu.  

In 2024, a similar appeal allowed him to play at Wimbledon and make his main draw debut. Procedural delays prompted Nagal to share the appeal on X to expedite issuance of the visa after an earlier attempt proved unsuccessful.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram