Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal is set to make his fifth Grand Slam appearance, having secured a direct entry into the Australian Open 2025 main draw.
Ranked 98th, Nagal, who appears on the entry list released by Tennis Australia on Friday, previously navigated the qualifying rounds in the last edition of the competition.
In the first round, Nagal impressively defeated the 31st seed, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, in straight sets with scores of 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (5). This victory marked him as the first Indian in 34 years to beat a seeded player in a Grand Slam singles main draw.
Nagal’s run, however, concluded in the subsequent round with a loss to China’s wild-card entrant, Shang Juncheng.
Nagal’s career trajectory continued to rise as he became the 10th Indian player to enter the top 100 in ATP rankings.
In the upcoming Australian Open, world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner leads the seeding, followed by Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, with Novak Djokovic seeded seventh.
For the women’s singles, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka holds the top seed, with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff following closely.
