India's No.1 men's tennis star Sumit Nagal has made his ATP top 100 debut following a win in the Chennai Open ATP Challenger on Sunday. Nagal becomes only the 10th Indian to be ranked inside the top 100 in the ATP singles rankings.
Nagal's feat was confirmed on Sunday after his straight-sets win over Italy's Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4 in Chennai in the live ATP rankings. He has jumped 23 spots after the win and is now ranked 98th in the rankings updated on Monday. Nagal was 'stoked' to achieve the milestone and thanked his team, coaches and sponsors for their support. "What an emotional day! Stoked to have cracked the Top 100 Ranking. Feels surreal to achieve it in my home country Extremely proud of my team for working hard every day and giving ourselves a chance to be where we are today," he wrote in a series of posts on X.
"A big thank you to my sponsors - Indian Oil, Aryan Pumps, Asics, Maha Tennis Foundation & Yonex for the support over the years. It really means a lot to me. Also a lot of gratitude for my coaches from the Nensel Tennis Academy - coach Sascha Nensel and fitness trainer Milos Galecic, mentor Somdev Devvarman & mental conditioning coach Dr. Cynthia Hucks-Smith from Whole Health Optimization for their time and efforts," he added.
Numerous fans turned to the stadium to watch Nagal in action on the finale of the Chennai Open Challenger. Nagal took a moment to thank those fans too. "And thanks to everyone who turned up at the stadium to support me. I’ve never seen such a big crowd for a Challenger final. Thanks to my friends, family, and supporters around the world for all the love and support as well. We are just getting started," he concluded his post.
First Indian in 5 years to reach top 100 in ATP singles rankings
Nagal is also the first Indian in 5 years and 10th overall to achieve the top 100 in the ATP rankings. The last Indian in the top 100 was Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who ranked 75 in April 2019. His mentor Devvarman was ranked 62 in July 2011.
Here is the complete list of Indians to be ranked in the top 100 in ATP singles rankings:
Vijay Amritraj: 18 (July 1980)
Ramesh Krishnan: 23 (January 1985)
Somdev Devvarman: 62 (July 2011)
Shashi Menon: 71 (October 1975)
Leander Paes: 73 (August 1998)
Anand Amritraj: 74 (November 1974)
Prajnesh Gunneswaran: 75 (April 2019)
Yuki Bhambri: 83 (April 2018)
Jasjit Singh: 89 (June 1974)
Sumit Nagal: 98* (February 2024)
