Sumit Nagal achieves career-best World No. 68 in ATP rankings ahead of Paris Olympics 2024
Indian ace tennis player Sumit Nagal, who is all set to take part in the Paris Olympics 2024, continues to rise in the ATP rankings. In the latest published rankings, Sumit Nagal ascended five spots to his career-best World No. 68, accumulating 779 ATP Points. His previous best ranking was 71.
With this move, Nagal surpassed former World No. 71 Sashi Menon to emerge as the fourth highest-ranked Indian male tennis player since 1973 behind Vijay Amritraj (18th in 1980), Ramesh Krishnan (23rd in 1985), Somdev Devvarman (62nd in 2011).
Sumit Nagal has been in impressive form of late, the reason behind the surge in his rankings. His excellent form has also helped Nagal to make the cut for the Paris Olympics 2024, scheduled to start on July 26.
Sumit Nagal’s meteoric rise in 2024
Nagal, who will be the only Indian player in the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics, initiated this year with a victory against Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan at the Australian Open and caught the limelight.
Later, he clinched the title win in the Chennai Open ATP Challenger to make it into the top 100 in the ATP Rankings for the first time. He became the first-ever Indian male player to make it to the main draw win at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Additionally, he made his French Open and Wimbledon debut. At Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Nagal faced an early exit in the first round. Nevertheless, he emerged as the first Indian player in five years to play a Wimbledon men’s singles main draw.
Earlier in July 2024, he secured the men’s singles title at the Heilbronn Neckar Cup 2024 Challenger competition in Germany.
Nagal, who is currently the best-ranked Indian singles player, has won four ATP Challenger titles since 2023, and Heilbronn was his fourth title on clay. Ranked 138th in January 2024, Nagal has been in brilliant form this year so far in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.
Sumit Nagal will be making his second Olympic appearance after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He will be the second Indian player to compete in consecutive men’s singles draws at the Summer Games after Leander Peas.