Just a year ago, Sumit Nagal was staring into the abyss. He was struggling not just with his tennis, but deep within there was a tempest brewing that forced him to contemplate quitting the game. On Sunday, he had tears in his eyes after winning the Chennai Open ATP Challenger. It was cathartic as varied emotions flashed by. Earlier in the year, the 26-year-old became the first Indian to beat a seeded player in 35 years at the Australian Open. He followed up with a win at Chennai to break into the top 100—first for an Indian since 2019. Everything seems to be falling into place for the 26-year-old in singles.
This could be a good tiding for India in tennis. The Davis Cup team has beaten Pakistan to qualify for World Group I. Rohan Bopanna became the oldest player to win a doubles Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open last month. The country is hosting four ATP Challenger series for the first time since 2015. It is something the players had been requesting so that they could earn big points—375 points in the four series—and get wild-card entries without travelling abroad. The ATP is itself helping Indian organisers. This could be the shot in the arm Indian tennis has been looking for.
Indian tennis needs new heroes. The sport has been starved of idols since Sania Mirza and Leander Paes walked into the sunset. With the Paris Olympics around the corner, the focus once again will be on doubles. With Bopanna now in the top 10, he can literally pick a partner; so all eyes will be on his choice. Paes’s first individual medal sparked a small revolution, especially in doubles. That generation’s top four—Paes, Bhupathi, Sania and Bopanna—gave us a lot of hope, but Indian players faded even in doubles where they were expected to do well. Indians have always struggled in singles, a game dominated by Europeans. With more ATP challengers at home, and a bit more support from sponsors and the government, players can dream of improving their rankings. Nagal has shown that with hard work, it is possible to win a Grand Slam match. But to be counted among the best, a lot more consistency is needed at the highest level. And it is not going to be easy.
