Sumit Nagal, the Indian tennis star, qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after his name was featured in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) entry list released for the men’s singles competition at the multi-sporting games earlier this month. With that, the 26-year-old will be playing in the second straight Olympic Games, reaching the second round at Tokyo 2020 three years ago.
When the qualification window for tennis at Paris 2024 ended, Sumit Nagal was ranked 77th, a career-high ATP ranking for him at that point in his tennis career. Since there were only 64 players set to feature in the men’s singles competition, he wasn’t the first choice as per the rankings.
But as per the IOC rules, a country could obtain a maximum of four quotas in tennis according to the rankings. With that, the multiple countries with more than four players in the ATP men’s singles rankings had no choice but to reduce the number of participants at Paris 2024, which opened the door for Sumit Nagal to make the cut-off.
Notably, 2024 has been by far the best year in the tennis career of Sumit Nagal, making history left right and center as an Indian player. He won his first-round match at the Australian Open against Alexander Bublik, the 31st seed, in straight sets, becoming the first Indian men’s singles player to defeat a seeded opponent in the main draw of a Grand Slam after 35 years this past January.
In February of this year, Sumit Nagal broke into the top 100 in the ATP men’s singles rankings for the first time in his career after defeating Luca Nardi at a Challenger event in Chennai. He replaced Rafael Nadal in the main draw of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event in March, losing in the first round to Milos Raonic in straight sets.
Next month, Sumit Nagal qualified for the Monte Carlo Masters, becoming the first Indian men’s singles player to reach the main draw of the tournament in 42 years. In the first round, he defeated Matteo Arnaldi, putting his name in the history books as the first Indian male player to win a match on clay at a Masters Series 1000 event.
The career-high ATP ranking of Sumit Nagal is 71st, which he achieved on June 17, 2024, after winning the Heilbronner Neckarcup and reaching the final of the Challenger event in Perugia a week later. The Indian tennis star, who is currently on the ascend in his tennis career, will be hoping for a great showing at the Paris 2024, to make a bigger name for himself in his country and the world of tennis in general.