A professional path in sports always seemed likely for Sumit Nagal. Growing up in India, he embraced every opportunity for physical activity.
"When I was a kid, I would play a lot on the streets like I would be out and out [the] whole day,” the 27-year-old related on this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast.
“And ‘specially if I had a day off or holidays were going on, I would be a guy who would leave his house at 9[am] and be back at 9.00pm.”
At that stage, Nagal related with a smile, he “would spend a lot of time playing cricket.” But when the young Indian athlete followed his father’s advice to try a more individual sport, tennis quickly became his passion.
“From day one, when I got a racquet, I don’t think I ever looked back,” Nagal enthused. “There was no question of like, ‘Hey, do you want to do? Should we try other sports?’
“Day one was tennis, day two was tennis, day 50 was tennis, tennis, tennis.”
Now India’s top-ranked singles player, Nagal is thankful for the multiple highs he has since achieved in the sport.
Progress from Australian Open 2024 qualifying to an equal-best Grand Slam showing provided the springboard for his top-100 singles breakthrough, which Nagal achieved as the Chennai Open champion last February.
“Breaking into [the] top 100 by winning that Challenger in India was very emotional because of the people who were around,” said Nagal, a winner of six ATP Challenger titles and the 10th Indian man to rank in the upper echelon.
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“I was crying, you know. I’ve never cried on the court so yeah, [there] was a lot of emotion.”
There were also powerful supporters who had helped the Indian’s progress to that point.
In his journey to a career-high world No.68 ranking, Nagal has formed some life-changing relationships, none more transformative than the one he shares with former world No.1 doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi.
In December 2007, a 10-year-old Nagal was selected to join his countryman’s academy in Bangalore, India. And while the development journey has since taken Nagal to Canada and his current training base of Germany, Bhupathi remains a prominent figure in his life.
“He’s my manager, mentor, friend – whatever you want to say,” Nagal smiled.
The current world No.98 is equally grateful for the support of parents Suresh and Krishna, with his mother playing a special role in his career. “She doesn’t really care about how good I do on the tennis court. She cares more about how I feel,” he explained.
Passionate fans have also played their part, which was especially the case with Nagal’s eye-turning progress at AO 2024.
He explains that “maturity came in” as he claimed four straight match wins in Melbourne – including over No.31 seed Alexander Bublik in the first round of the main draw – with the fervent support of spectators also helping him to strike career-best form.
“The atmosphere was crazy,” Nagal recalls. “A lot of Indians showed up to support me, which was incredible.”
Positive momentum flowed into a career-best season, which included main-draw appearances at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and Shanghai.
Representing India at the Paris Olympics also fulfilled a lifelong dream.
“It gave me confidence. I was playing at a very high level (for the) majority of the year,” he reflects of the launchpad his Melbourne performance provided. “I think the Australian Open really gave me a jump start.”
It’s a fitting reward for the sacrifices a young Nagal had made to pursue his professional career.
He recalls waking up at 5am as a junior to take a two-hour bus journey for 8am practice sessions, and early days sleeping on airport chairs.“I think I had to build up a character going through so many, so many different things going through so many good and bad days,” Nagal recalls.
Fortunately, those good days now far outweigh the bad ones, with Nagal relishing his return to Australia this summer – which could come with highs both on and off the court.
Last January’s milestones provided the opportunity to combine another sporting love when he visited the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“I never thought tennis would take me to cricket,” he laughed of his MCG experience. “I actually got to play as well!”
It was, in many ways, the perfect full circle moment for the 27-year-old – and equally, you might think, simply another pleasing stop in a journey that is likely to deliver many highs yet.
Listen to the full episode of The Sit-Down, a weekly podcast released each Monday featuring an in-depth interview with a notable tennis identity. Subscribe to The Sit-Down in your favourite podcast player.