New Delhi: After arranging a living budget of Rs one crore that keeps him going on the ATP Tour, India’s No. 1 tennis player Sumit Nagal finds himself with less than Rs one lakh in his bank account and feeling gloomy for not leading a good life.
He has been training at the Nansel Tennis Academy in Germany for a few years, but lack of funds prevented him from training at his favorite location during the first three months of the 2023 season.
His friends Somdev Devvarman and Christopher Marcuis helped him stay in shape in January and February before finally managing to finance his stay in Germany.
Fund crunch is probably the story of every Indian tennis player, but the fact that the country’s No. 1 singles player is not saving enough money for himself and his family only reveals the uselessness system and the Brutal Tour where players fight solitary battles.
To stay and play on the ATP Tour, Nagal has invested his entire prize money, his salary from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the support he receives from the Maha Tennis Foundation.
The expenses are linked to his stay at the Peine training center and his travel to tournaments in the company of either his coach or a physiotherapist.
“If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (around Rs 80,000). I have received a little help. Mr. Prashant Sutar m “I help with the MAHA Tennis Foundation and I also get a monthly salary from IOCL but I don’t have a big sponsor,” Nagal said in an interview.
Nagal’s racquet, shoe and apparel needs are handled by Yonex and ASICS, respectively.
This year, in 24 tournaments played, Nagal earned around Rs 65 lakh, with his biggest payday coming from the US Open where he lost the first round of qualifying and still pocketed $22,000 (around Rs 18 lakh).
“I invest whatever I earn. The annual cost when I travel with a single coach costs me around (Rs) 80 lakh to 1 crore and that’s just with a single traveling coach (no physio). All that I did, I already invested it.
“I feel like I’m lacking support despite being India’s No. 1 player for the last few years. I’m the only player to qualify for the Grand Slam, the only player to win a match ( tennis) at the Olympic Games (Tokyo) in recent years, and the government has still not added my name to the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme).
“I felt that when my ranking dropped due to injury, no one wanted to help me, no one really believed that I could be back. It was disappointing because I feel like everything I do doesn’t work. is not enough. It’s so difficult to find financial support in India. To be honest, I don’t know what to do, I gave up.”
The son of a primary school teacher in West Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, Nagal fought off-field battles last year when he underwent hip surgery and also contracted COVID several times .
It’s no surprise that he’s starting to doubt his return to the tennis court. Sitting and waiting is never easy for an athlete.
“Rehab took six months, then getting back to play took another six months. I would say I took a year and a half, just to feel good.
“It was in the middle of last summer that I started to feel better. I lost a few matches that I should have won, I lost matches on match points or while serving for a match and when I was on a set and a breakup I I had COVID twice last year, so I had two very, very long years.
“I have nothing saved. I’m just breaking even. I can’t say I live a very good life or say I don’t need to work. I haven’t earned anything over the past two years, so I’m glad I broke even. At least I’m not in a negative state where I have to leave the academy and travel alone.
Nagal said his coaches advised him to save money and then return to Germany.
“I sat down with Sasha Nansel (his trainer) and Milos (his fitness trainer). They told me you have to do some things yourself and try to save as much money as possible in India and we let’s start again in April.
“I travel with one of the two, and that’s just the basics. I’m not saying I want to stay in a five-star hotel, none of that, that’s just the basics.”
A look at the ATP singles rankings shows Nagal is the highest-ranked Indian at 159. The next best is Sasikumar Mukund, who goes back to 407.
Out of action, Prajnesh Gunneswaran is further behind at No. 540 and is followed by Digvijay Pratap Singh (554) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (569).
Nagal laments that Indian singles players lack not only financial support but also guidance.
“We lack funding, we lack system. If there is a system, there will be funding. China has money. We have potential like China. Why do we only win 5-6 medals at the Olympics as China won 38 gold medals (in Tokyo).
“There are 1.4 billion of us, we can compete with them in talent, but why can’t we reach the high level? There is a lack of guidance. In tennis, we are far from competing at the top.
“I’m getting better. I feel like I have the game. If my body is good and I play tournaments, I feel like I’m ready (for a big jump).”
