Sumit Nagal, the top-ranked Tennis player in India, has less than $15,000 in his bank account and feels a depressing sense that he is not living a happy life despite having arranged for a $1 crore maintenance budget that keeps him active on the ATP Tour.
Sumit Nagal has put away all of his prize money, IOCL salary, and Maha Tennis Foundation sponsorship in order to continue playing on the opulent ATP Tour.
He has been training at the Nansel Tennis Academy in Germany for the past few years. However, he spent the first three months of the 2023 season away from his favoured facility due to financial constraints. Before he was able to get funding for his stay in Germany, his pals Somdev Devvarman, as well as Christopher Marcuis, assisted him in staying in shape in January and February.
The lack of money is certainly the narrative of every tennis player in India, but the reality that the nation’s top singles player isn’t saving sufficient funds for himself as well as his family only serves to highlight the ineffective system and the cruel Tour, where the players fight their battles alone.
The cost is associated with his stay at the Peine training facility. Moreover, he travels to competitions either through his coach or even a physiotherapist.
“I did get a bit of help.” : Sumit Nagpal
Sumit spoke to PTI about his current situation. He said, “If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (approx ? 80,000). I did get a bit of help. Mr Prashant Sutar is helping me with MAHA Tennis Foundation and I also get monthly (salary) from IOCL but I don’t have any big sponsor.”
He further spoke about how he got no support during his time on the sidelines. He said, “I felt when my ranking dropped after injury, no one wanted to help me, no one really believed that I could be back. That was disappointing because I feel whatever I do is not enough. It’s so hard to find financial support in India. To be honest I do not know what to do, I have given up.”
