Heartbroken tennis star calls for rule change after being kicked out of tournament

Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal has called for a rule change in ATP events after being disqualified from a challenger event in Poland. A heated exchange ensued after the player challenged a ball which he believed was out.

The situation escalated with Nagal eventually being disqualified from the tournament. He was 6-4, 5-4 down to Petr Brunclik at the time on the clay court.

Following the decision the world's No. 68 has shared a video of the decision on social media and said he was 'broken emotionally' and 'didn't know how to fight for myself.' He offered a further demand in the caption.

He wrote: "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.

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"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.

"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."

Clay court competitions, including the French Open, still tend to use line judges, with the umpire checking the mark on the court when a call is challenged. It's, however, different in other Grand Slams where automatic technology for line calls is now widely used.