Sumit Nagal seeks help to participate in the Australian Open
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal, currently the highest-ranked player in his country, has requested assistance from Chinese authorities after being denied a visa to compete in the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open, which will begin on November 24 in Chengdu. Nagal took to social media to ask the Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, and the Chinese embassy to intervene on his behalf.The organizers of the Australian Open were contacted for comment. The 2026 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the year, will begin on January 18 in Melbourne. The relations between India and China, two Asian powers with the world’s largest populations, have recently improved. Last month, India and China planned to resume direct flights between some of their cities after a five-year suspension, as relations between both countries begin to improve. According to reports, there has been no immediate response from the embassy or the tournament organizers. One of the highlights of 28-year-old Nagal’s career was winning the first set of a US Open match against Roger Federer in 2019. However, Federer won the next three sets to advance to the second round. Nagal reached his best individual ranking in July 2024, placing at number 68, but currently holds the 290th position. He has been a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2018. In January, he lost in the first round of the Australian Open and failed to qualify for the French Open and Wimbledon. He won the Wimbledon 2015 boys’ doubles title with Ly Hoang Nam of Vietnam, becoming the sixth Indian player to win a junior Grand Slam title. The Asia-Pacific qualifying tournament for the Australian Open is scheduled from November 24 to 29 at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre. It is a men’s and women’s singles event with 16 players and 12 teams in men’s and women’s doubles. In last year’s Asia-Pacific qualifier, also held in Chengdu, China’s Zhang Shuai and Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej secured places in the main draw of the 2025 Australian Open. Zhang defeated American McCartney Kessler in the first round in Melbourne before losing to Yulia Putintseva, the 24th seed, in the second round. Samrej, who had never competed in a Grand Slam event, not even in the qualifying rounds, took Daniil Medvedev, the fifth seed, to five sets before losing in the first round.I was supposed to fly to China soon to represent India in the Australian Open qualifier. But my visa was rejected without reason. Your urgent help would be greatly appreciated.
Sumit Nagal
