BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — India’s top tennis player has appealed to Chinese authorities after saying he was denied a visa to participate in an Australian Open playoff tournament that begins Nov. 24 in Chengdu.
Sumit Nagal took social networks request the Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, and the Chinese Embassy to intervene on his behalf.
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“I am supposed to fly to China soon to represent India in the Australian Open qualifiers,” Nagal said on Tuesday. “But my visa was refused for no reason. Your urgent help would be much appreciated.”
Australian Open officials were asked for comment on Wednesday. The 2026 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the year, will begin on January 18 in Melbourne.
Relations between the two Asian powers and with the world’s two largest populations have improved recently. India and China last month it was planned to resume direct flights between some of their cities after a five-year suspension as relations between the two countries begin to thaw.
Press Trust of India reported that there was no immediate response from the embassy or the organizers of the playoffs.
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One of the highlights of Nagal’s career, 28 years old took the first set from a US Open match against Roger Federer in 2019. But Federer won the next three sets to advance to the second round.
Nagal had a career-high singles score of 68 as of July 2024, but his current ranking is 290. 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 men’s doubles title in 2015 with Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam, becoming the sixth Indian player to win a junior Grand Slam title.
The Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wild Card Qualifiers is scheduled for November 24-29 at the Sichuan International Tennis Center. This is a men’s and women’s singles event bringing together 16 players and 12 teams in men’s and women’s doubles.
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At last year’s Asia-Pacific qualifiers, also held in Chengdu, China’s Zhang Shuai and Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej earned a place in the main draw of the 2025 Australian Open.
Zhang beat American McCartney Kessler in the first round in Melbourne before losing to 24th seed Yulia Putintseva in the second. Samrej, who had never competed at a Grand Slam venue, not even in qualifying, Daniil Medvedev, fifth seed extended to five sets before losing in the first round.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
