Wimbledon has already begun on Monday and whilst the tennis world shifts their focus on the grass season, our very own Sumit Nagal is ensuring India’s flag flies high on the pro tennis circuit, winning his 7th ATP Challenger title.
Sumit won the ATP 75 Targu Mures Challenger title in Romania last week by defeating the 20 year old Frenchman Felix Balshaw in the final by 6-3, 7-5. This is his 1st title win since June 2024 and 4th in Europe.
With the title win, his ranking rose to 219 now and he also joins Yuki Bhambri (7 titles) in the second place on the list of Indians with the most ATP Challenger Singles titles. For now, Leander Paes leads the list with 11 titles.
In conversation with Indian Tennis Daily (ITD) and a couple of other media channels, Sumit Nagal shares his playing experience, emotions, injuries in the last 2 years, explains about his future plans, how this win means a lot to him and a piece of advice to the younger generation.
Question: Congratulations Sumit, on the title. You’ve went without a title for two years. What does it really mean for an athlete, and does it feel different emotionally?
Sumit Nagal: Thank you so much – I’ll start with the emotions first. This definitely means a lot. I went through a lot of tough times over the last two years with the way I was playing, how my body was feeling, and drops in both my rankings and earnings. Because of that, a lot of emotions came up. It was even tough to sleep on Sunday night; I probably didn’t fall asleep until around 4:00 AM. In terms of what this means, it is a great way to boost my confidence. It gives me new hope and a solid base to start pushing forward again
Question: Could you share a bit more about your journey during the time you weren’t winning titles? How did you keep yourself motivated?
Sumit Nagal: I mean, there were times when I didn’t. I’ll be honest, I didn’t always keep myself motivated. There were a lot of bad thoughts. I would question myself, ‘What am I doing? Why am I playing?’ Things were not working on the court, and things were not working off the court. But then you just have to get through those bad days. You try to ignore them, and you come back again with a better, fresher mind.
I also had a lot of talks with my team. They really pushed hard for me to see the clear picture, both on and off the court. They encouraged me to invest more time in what I really want to do in life and how I really want to play tennis. I think those talks and those moments really put me back in the right place
Question: You talked about the emotional toll of the last two years, which included a number of injuries rather than just one. You dealt with a back injury, a hip injury, and an illness, often playing through pain. Could you summarize how the last two years have been specifically on the physical side?
Sumit Nagal: It’s been tough. Like you said, a lot of injuries came. But honestly, I don’t know what else to say about it. It happened, I’m over it, and I just want to play tennis. There was nothing I could do about it, but I am doing everything I can for my body now. I really don’t want to think about those days anymore
Question: How is your body coping now that you are playing week-in and week-out? How is your body feeling as of now? Is it in the best shape possible?
Sumit Nagal: Yeah, it’s getting good. I would say it’s getting good. Every match makes you feel better, especially if you play a long match. It gives you more and more confidence in yourself. I think last week was a good example because I played a lot of matches, and the body felt good
Question: There are 3-4 months for the season to end, around 5 months. So, what are your plans and what are your goals for the remainder of the season?
Sumit Nagal: Just play, man. Just play as much as I can. I don’t have any goals as of now; I just want to play tennis. Like you said, I just want to play week-in and week-out. That’s it. Once I am in the rhythm, I know I will find it
Question: After a loss or a bad week, did you shut yourself out from the game? Did you take the weekend off to spend time with your friends? How did you handle yourself in the past?
Sumit Nagal: I think there were days or weeks where I wasn’t talking to anybody. I kind of lost touch with my friends and family as well. It wasn’t easy. I kept things to myself more than trying different things. I was more in a cave than being out there. After the Poznań Challenger tournament, I spoke to myself and put a bit of pressure on myself to change some habits. I am not saying I won the tournament because of that, don’t get me wrong, but I think it was a great realization of where my mind was in life
Question: Three of your wins leading up to the Romania final came after dropping the very first set. How do you keep your composure on court when you start a match trailing behind?
Sumit Nagal: I was just telling myself, ‘Don’t let your opponent off the hook. If he beats you, he beats you, but you fight until the very last point.’ That’s it. That was the only mentality I had
Question: Just to check, when you were winning and competing last week, the Wimbledon qualifying was also underway. Was that any kind of motivation to get back to tournaments at the highest level? Did that play on your mind at all?
Sumit Nagal: I definitely hate not playing a Slam. My name not being in the Slams will probably always be something that bothers me. Would I say that I won because of that? Probably not. Was there a feeling of disappointment that I am not in a Slam? Yes, that is always going to be there. Like I said, I just hate missing out on a Slam, but it was meant to be
Question: You won the 2024 Chennai Challenger back in January 2024. Do you have any plans for the 2027 season in India, and do you plan to play all the four Challengers in India?
Sumit Nagal: I’ll probably play; I will play in India for sure. These are the only tournaments I have in my home country where I can be with my people, so I will definitely try to play
Question: Your career effectively launched when you directly asked Mahesh Bhupathi to look at your game as a child. What advice would you give to young kids who want to replicate your path?
Sumit Nagal: Be bold, be confident. I feel like if I hadn’t been that way, I would have never walked up to someone and asked. I feel like a lot of people in the younger generation are very shy about talking to people
Trivia: Sumit loves gaming and he’s a massive fan of Japanese culture & anime.