‘I’m done playing the victim’: Sumit Nagal reveals ‘change’ in mindset after challenging 2026

Team India’s Sumit Nagal (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images for ITF) India’s top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal has had a difficult 2026 season as injuries have disrupted his progress, pushing him as low as 247 in the rankings. But the 29-year-old says he has changed his mindset and is now more focused on enjoying tennis than worrying about results all the time.Nagal started the year with a hip injury sustained during a Challenger event in Thailand. He returned early for the Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands in Bengaluru as he wanted to represent the country.“I started the year with an injury, then I played Davis Cup (in Bengaluru). I was always behind the times. I came to play early because it was Davis Cup and Team India,” Nagal told PTI.“If it wasn’t for the Davis Cup, I would have taken a whole month off.”He later developed wrist problems and said he did not feel fully fit until May.“I was in a position where I wasn’t healthy, but I was playing. And then in March, I started feeling something in my wrist again. So I didn’t feel good until I said May.”

Nagal changes his approach

Despite the setbacks, Nagal won the Challenger title in Romania and reached another semi-final in the Czech Republic. He believes his game has improved in recent months.“The last two, three months have been better than the first half of the year. And now I just have to build on that,” he said.His US Open qualifying campaign ended with a 3-6, 6-7(4) loss to France’s Arthur Gea. However, Nagal felt that the close match showed that he can still compete at a high level.“My last match at the US Open was a little bit unlucky. I had a couple of break points and the guy was out in the fourth round. So I feel like it’s there, I just have to work hard to make it work in my favor,” he said.The constant cycle of playing and recovering took its toll on him mentally.“It’s not that much fun because when you play for two months and then you’re out for two months and you play for two months, I don’t think it’s that much fun. But I’m done playing the victim. I take it as it is, as it is, and I try to enjoy every day.Before the US Open, Nagal realized he had to stop focusing on winning.“I realized I needed to be happier. Very simple, actually. And not focus too much on winning, winning, winning, winning. Because I was doing that and it wasn’t really working for me.”His loss to Jan Kumsat in Prague helped him to realize this.“I lost a match in Prague and I was driving back. And that’s when I realized, I was like, man, this is just not fun. I’m not going to survive like this if I’m constantly putting pressure on myself that every match I go into, I need to win, win, win,” Nagal said.“I was burning too much energy throughout the match and days.

“Now we focus on competing”

Nagal also shelved his immediate goal of returning to the top 100.“You always want to play the Slams. You want to be in the top 50, top 30. But I wouldn’t say that’s what I’m focused on right now. I’m focused on competing right now, man,” he said.At the beginning of the season, he often struggled to maintain his level throughout the matches.“A lot of weeks I was playing two good sets and not a third set. That’s very basic. Or I was playing one good set and not a good second set because I was just playing the sacrifice thing and I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t working for me. This isn’t working. This is against me. Everything was against me,'” he said.“And like this, whatever, you can have any goals. But you won’t get anywhere like this.”Nagal is also willing to help the younger Indian players but does not want to force himself into a leadership role.“I’m always open to them. I lead them if something is needed. But I also don’t want to be there, let’s say, in a leadership role when no one asks,” he said.“At the end of the day, it’s still a team sport. It shouldn’t be one guy leading the team. Of course, my help is there. I’ve always said that. I always want Indian tennis to do well. There’s never a question.”