Sumit Nagal says he felt so “hopeless and broken-hearted” after being disqualified at an ATP Challenger event in Poland.
On Monday, the former world No 68 was 6-4 5-4 down to Petr Brunclik at the clay tournament in Poznan, and then all hell broke loose.
The 28-year-old disputed a line call, one that he thought was clearly out, but Nagal said neither the line judge nor chair umpire made a call.
The Indian player claims he immediately appealed the decision, and when his protests were ignored, the situation escalated, and he was subsequently disqualified.
After the match, Nagal took to social media and called for more technology at these types of events and for the ATP Tour/ITF World Tennis Tour to make a change that would allow players to “defend” themselves when these incidents crop up.
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In particular, he questioned why tennis players – who are playing for their livelihood – should get fined for indiscretions but officials face much less scrutiny.
He wrote in an Instagram post, “1) I was playing a point, where I ran towards the ball, which was clearly out – as you can see in the picture. There was a linesman and a chair umpire refereeing the match. The call never came from either of them.
“So I raised my hand immediately (as you can clearly see in the video) but the umpire claims she didn’t see it, which can happen, but then she refused to come down and even check the mark.
“2) The ATP rule says I am allowed to hit one ball after it bounces, it doesn’t matter where it goes, I can still challenge the call if it didn’t affect the play. Which is exactly what I did by raising my hand.
“3) Players get penalized for mistakes that happen knowingly or unknowingly. Mistakes can happen; we are humans, and I understand. But why do we players get penalized with money when we make mistakes, and not chair umpires?
“Players have the added pressure of needing to win to make money. Umpires have comparatively less pressure because they don’t need to win to get paid. Why should they face no pressure?
“For players, one wrong call can decide a match or even a tournament. You get penalized in life if you make a mistake knowingly or unknowingly. There are plenty of scenarios.”
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Nagal, who is now down at 282nd in the world, expressed how soul-destroying this was for him, claiming he got three incorrect calls in one point.
The Jaitpur-born player wants technology implemented at smaller tournaments and a rule change. He also apologised to his fans for his actions.
Nagal added, “Today I felt so hopeless and broken-hearted because I couldn’t even defend myself. It was emotionally tough for me to get past that point afterwards. I got 3 wrong calls in a single point – where no call came, referee refused to come down to check and referee doesn’t see me appeal to it.
“I humbly request ATP/ITF to make a change that would enable us players to defend ourselves as well. I believe matches should not be dependent on merely referees in 2026 when you can leverage technology. I am sorry if I let my fans/supporters down. Thank you and see you.”
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