Sumit Nagal Age, Career, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sumit Nagal

• Sumit Nagal is an Indian Tennis player. He is the sixth Indian to win a Junior Grand Slam. Nagal shot to fame when he faced Roger Federer in the 2019 US Open.
  

  Sumit Nagal with his ATP Challenger Trophy

• In his childhood, he mostly used to play cricket, but his father wanted him to pursue tennis; as he wanted him to do something unique.

• Soon after joining tennis, he started loving the game. His school coach became very impressed with his skills in the game and advised his father to get him professional training.

• At the age of 7, his family moved to Delhi, where his father enrolled Sumit in the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Tennis Academy to be professionally trained.

• He performed very well in the DDA academy. Sumit also won his first tennis tournament at the age of 8.
  

  Sumit Nagal after winning a tennis tournament during his childhood

• When Sumit was 10 years old, Mahesh Bhupathi, along with other international tennis players, started a talent hunt- “Mission 2018”, an initiative to find, train, and produce India’s first single’s Grand Slam winner by 2018.

• Sumit’s father took him to Bangalore to participate in Mission 2018. There were more than 5,000 participants at the event, of which Sumit was one of the youngest players. Sumit was selected along with 2 other players after Bhupathi watched him play.

• Reportedly, in an interview, his father said that he did not think Sumit would get selected; as there were thousands of other participants who were much older than him.

• Bhupathi started to train Sumit, but the programme got shut down after 2 years. Bhupathi stopped training him, but he backed him financially, even after the programme ended.
  

  Sumit Nagal during his younger days

• Former Canadian tennis player and coach, Bobby Mahal, had seen Sumit train with Bhupathi. When Bhupathi’s programme ended abruptly, Bobby Mahal invited Sumit to train with him in Canada.

• Even though Sumit’s family did not have the money to send him to Canada, Mahesh Bhupathi, sponsored his trip and accommodation in Canada.

• Bhupathi is Sumit’s mentor and manager, and he guides him constantly. He advises him on what tournaments to participate in, how to play, and how to get more points and move up the rankings table.
  

• In 2014, Sumit moved to Germany, after he was accepted in the Schuettler Waske Tennis University.

• In 2015, Sumit participated and won the Boys’ Doubles title at Wimbledon with Vietnamese tennis player, Lý Hoàng Nam.
  

  Sumit Nagal with Lý Hoàng Nam after winning the boys’ doubles at Wimbledon

• In 2015, he turned pro, and in 2016, he made his debut for India in the Davis Cup.
  

  Sumit Nagal playing in the Davis Cup

• In 2017, Nagal was removed from India’s Davis Cup squad; citing disciplinary reasons. Later, a retired Indian tennis player, Somdev Devvarman, defended Sumit by writing an open letter to the All India Tennis Association (AITA). ^[2]India Today

• In 2019, he qualified for the US Open. He made his Grand Slam debut against Roger Federer on 26 August 2019.
  

  Sumit Nagal with Roger Federer after their match

• Sumit lost the match against Federer, but he won the first set against him. It also made him the first Indian to win a set against Federer. After the match, Federer praised him and stated that the first set was tough for him, and he was sure that Sumit would do very well in his career.

• The official Twitter handle of the US Open also posted a tweet praising Sumit.

We know this isn't the last we'll see of Sumit Nagal…

Remember the name 😉 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/JtW1xzA4k6

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2019

• On 2 September 2020, when he defeated United States’ Bradley Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open, he became the first Indian in seven years to reach the second round of a Grand Slam.

Sumit Nagal is the first Indian man to win a match at the #USOpen in 7 years.

He's onto the second round after defeating Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.@nagalsumit I #USOpen pic.twitter.com/h30hVPeaWu

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2020

• In 2023, Sumit, in an interview, disclosed that he had used most of his savings to sustain his participation in the ATP Tour. With around 900 euros (approximately Rs. 80,000) in his bank account, these expenses covered his stay in Peine, Germany’s training centre, and travel to tournaments, either with his coach or a physio. According to him, his annual travel cost, even with just one coach and no physio, ranged from 80 lakhs to 1 crore rupees. Sumit also expressed disappointment at the lack of support and belief in his comeback after an injury, noting the difficulty of finding financial backing in India. ^[3]Hindustan Times In the interview, Sumit said,
  

  If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (approx ₹80,000). I did get a bit of help. Mr Prashant Sutar is helping me with MAHA Tennis Foundation and I also get monthly (salary) from IOCL but I don’t have any big sponsor.”