India’s tennis player Sumit Nagal has recently revealed that he received his first big payment from a sponsor Gatorade.
The top-ranked player earlier complained about lack of support from the local organisation but his fortunes changed after he was signed by his new sponsor.
The development was praised by the Executive Director of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), Ahmad Nassar who also lauded the efforts of the current world number one Novak Djokovic and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.
The PTPA was established after the efforts of the Serbian tennis star who has been very vocal about better pay rates for the players, especially those participating in the lower levels.
Nassar, in a post on his official account on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — has heaped praise on Djokovic and Jabeur — who is the other high-profile player to join the association — for doing work for the betterment of the players at the lower levels.
“So glad to see this & hope it’s the first of many new sponsors. @ptpaplayers leaders like Novak Djokovic & Ons Jabeur have recently spoken up about support and getting to a place where more professional tennis players can make a living. Even though it’s an individual sport, it’s a team effort!" Nassar wrote.
Djokovic is often renowned as the greatest player in the history of men’s singles tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.
His most recent victory came in the US Open 2023 where he defeated the current world number three Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
On the other hand, Jabeur is going through a bit of a rough patch, especially after she lost another Grand Slam final at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Since that defeat, the current world number seven was knocked out of the Cincinnati Open (Western & Southern Open) in the quarterfinal after losing to current world number one Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3.
Jabeur’s journey in the US Open was also a short one as she exited the competition after losing the fourth-round encounter to China’s Qinwen Zheng in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
So glad to see this & hope it’s the first of many new sponsors. @ptpaplayers leaders like @Ons_Jabeur & @DjokerNole have recently spoken up about support and getting to a place where more professional tennis players can make a living. Even though it’s an individual sport, it’s a…
Humbled and delighted to join the @GatoradeIndia family. Thank you for all the support!
