India’s highest-ranked men’s singles tennis player, Sumit Nagal, has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Sweden. In a social media post, Nagal cited a persistent back issue as the reason for his absence. He revealed that doctors have advised him to rest for the next two weeks, which wouldn’t allow him enough time to adequately prepare for the tournament in Sweden.
This same back injury also forced Nagal to withdraw from the US Open doubles event earlier. While deeply disappointed to miss the Davis Cup tie, Nagal emphasized the importance of prioritizing his health to prevent further injury and ensure a strong finish to the season. He expressed his support for the Indian team and pledged to cheer them on from home.
Nagal’s withdrawal comes after a disappointing US Open performance, where he suffered a straight-set defeat against Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor in the opening round of the men’s singles event. Just a few months prior, in July, he achieved a career-high ranking of 68, marking him as the fourth highest-ranked Indian male tennis player since the ranking system’s inception in 1973.
The Indian Davis Cup team will be represented by Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sriram Balaji, Niki Poonacha, Siddharth Vishwakarma, with Aryan Shah as the reserve player. The team will be led by Captain Rohit Rajpal and Coach Ashutosh Singh, with Yash Pandey and Debashish Das serving as physios.
