Sumit Nagal seeks help from China embassy after visa rejection

India's top-ranked tennis player Sumit Nagal on Tuesday sought urgent intervention from the Chinese embassy after his visa application to travel to China for the Australian Open Playoff was rejected without any reason. Nagal took to social media platform X to make his appeal, tagging the Chinese Ambassador to India and the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy.

"Respected @China_Amb_India and @ChinaSpox_India. I am Sumit Nagal, India’s No.1 tennis player. I am supposed to fly to China soon to represent India at the Australian Open Playoff. But my visa was rejected without reason. Your urgent help would be much appreciated,” Nagal wrote.

After losing his place in top-100, Nagal cannot enter the top events like Grand Slams as direct entrant and would depend on wild card entries or Qualifiers. The 27-year-old from Jhajjar, Haryana, is currently India’s highest-ranked singles player, placed 275 in the latest ATP standings.

He was scheduled to travel to Chengdu to compete in the Australian Open Playoff event, which will give the regional players a main-draw entry into the 2026 Australian Open. There has been no immediate response from the Chinese embassy or tournament organisers regarding the issue.

If the matter is not resolved swiftly, Nagal would be forced to miss the event, which could hurt his chances to enter 2026 season's first Grand Slam.