Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has spoken out after his disqualification from the Poznan Challenger in Poland. The incident occurred during his match against Petr Brunclik on Sunday. Nagal described feeling hopeless and urged the ATP and ITF to adopt more technology.
Sumit Nagal was trailing 6-4, 5-4 when the match halted over a disputed line call. He appealed after hitting what he believed was an out ball, but the chair umpire said she had not seen the signal and declined to inspect the mark. Nagal received a disqualification for unsportsmanlike conduct.
In a statement posted Monday, Nagal wrote that he felt “hopeless and broken-hearted” because he could not defend himself. He noted three missed elements in the point: no initial call, refusal to check the mark, and failure to recognize the allowed appeal under ATP rules.
Nagal questioned why players face financial penalties for errors while umpires do not. He asked the ATP and ITF to reduce reliance on human referees by 2026 and to implement technology that lets players defend calls more effectively.
The 28-year-old, ranked No. 277 and India’s top singles player, reached a career-high ranking of No. 68 in 2024.