Indian tennis: Sumit Nagal – ‘When the body is right, the heart is there to compete’

At the start of the 2023 tennis season, Sumit Nagal held an ATP singles rank of 503. It was a steep drop from the top 125 range he had once broken into, but it was a fall that came through a series of injuries – one that required hip surgery a year earlier.

But 2023 marked his return to the circuit, a return he hoped would last longer than his injury-ravaged body would allow.

Now, in June 2024, he has risen to a career best 71 (currently he is the world No 72). And with it, he has made the cut for the main draw at the Paris Olympics that start next month.

The steady climb up the rankings ladder has seen him hit a decent run off late. He won the ATP Chennai Challenger in February to become the first Indian since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019 to break into the top 100 singles rankings.

And the 26-year-old from Jhajjar has only improved since then.

“The last few weeks have been good,” Nagal said to Scroll.

“I’ve been playing with a lot of motivation. The body is feeling alright. I think that is the biggest key – when the body is feeling right. The heart is there and you can compete for every point. That makes...

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