‘I’m done playing the victim’: Sumit Nagal reveals a ‘change’ in mentality after difficult 2026 | tennis news

India’s top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal has had a difficult 2026 season, with injuries halting his progress and pushing him down to 247th in the rankings. But the 29-year-old says he has changed his way of thinking and now focuses more on enjoying tennis rather than constantly worrying about results.Nagal began the year with a hip injury suffered during a Challenger event in Thailand. He returned early for India’s Davis Cup tie against Netherlands in Bengaluru because he wanted to represent the country.“I started the year with an injury, then I played the Davis Cup (in Bengaluru). I was always late. I came early to play because it was the Davis Cup and Team India,” Nagal told PTI.“If it wasn’t for the Davis Cup, I would have taken the whole month off.”He later developed a wrist problem and said he didn’t feel fully fit until May.“I was in a position where I wasn’t healthy, but I was playing. And then in March, again, I started feeling something in my wrist. So I didn’t feel good until I said May.”

Nagal changes his approach

Despite the setbacks, Nagal won a Challenger title in Romania and reached another semi-final in Czechia. He believes his game has improved in recent months.“The last two or three months have been better compared to the first half of the year. And now I just have to take advantage of that,” he said.His US Open qualifying campaign ended with a 3-6, 6-7(4) loss to Frenchman Arthur Gea. Nagal, however, 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 unfortunate. I had some break points and the guy ended up making it to the fourth round. So I feel like it’s there, I just need to work hard to get it to work out in my favor,” he said.The constant cycle of playing and recovering also took a toll on him mentally.“It’s not that 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 fun. But I’m done being the victim. I take it as it is, as it is, and I try to enjoy every day.Before the US Open, Nagal realized that he had to stop focusing on winning.“I realized that I need 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.”A loss to Jan Kumsat in Prague helped him reach that conclusion.“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 keep putting pressure on myself that every match I play, I need to win, win, win,” Nagal said.“I was burning too much energy throughout the game and throughout the days.”

‘The goal now is to compete’

Nagal has 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 my focus right now. The focus now is to compete, man,” he said.At the beginning of the season, he often struggled to maintain his level during matches.“For many weeks, I was playing two good sets and not the third. That’s very basic. Or I was playing a good set and not a good second set because I was just playing the victim and saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t working for me.’ This doesn’t work. This goes against me. Everything was against me,'” he said.“And so, whatever, you can have any goal. But like this, you’re not going to get anywhere.”Nagal is also keen to help younger Indian players, but does not want to force himself into a leadership role.“I’m always open to them. I guide them if they need something. But I also don’t want to be there, let’s say, in a leadership role when they don’t ask me,” he said.“At the end of the day, it is still a team sport. It should not be just one man leading the team. Of course, my help is there. I have always said that. I always want Indian tennis to do well. There is never a doubt.”