The term ‘Lucky Loser in tennis’ is applied to a particular player who loses in the qualifying rounds of a professional tennis tournament, but can get to play in the main draw if a player who has automatically qualified, withdraws at the last minute or due to an injury.
Over the years, many lucky losers have taken the tournament by storm. In 2012, David Goffin of Belgium entered the French Open as a lucky loser after failing in the qualifying rounds. However, he stunned many and made a name for himself after defeating the likes of Radek Stepanek, Arnaud Clement and Lukasz Kubot to make it to the Round of 16. This is even though the great Roger Federer ended Goffin’s run in a 4-set victory.
Andrey Rublev, currently the World No.5, made his mark first in the tennis world as a Lucky Loser. He won the Umag Open back in 2017. A week later, Leonardo Mayer of Germany won a title on home soil in Hamburg.
At the Linz Open in 2019, Coco Gauff got a entry into the main draw as a Lucky Loser. The then 15-year-old took the tournament by storm as she defeated some big names in tennis. Gauff got wins against Venus Williams, Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog but lost in the Round of 16 too.
In 2023, Nao Hibino was the Lucky Loser at the Prague Open. And yet, she went on to win the 3rd ATP title of her career, stunning Linda Noskova, the No.4 seed in the final.
Sumit Nagal replaces Rafael Nadal as the lucky loser at Indian Wells 2024
Rafael Nadal has announced he will not feature at the Indian Wells 2024 due to not being totally fit. The Spanish star was supposed to play against Milos Raonic. Now, Nadal will be replaced by Sumit Nagal at the Indian Wells. Nagal, is the Indian tennis star, who recently made it into the top 100 world rankings.
Nagal would be hopeful of an impressive run at this year’s tournament after an impressive Australian Open. The Indian started the tournament in Melbourne as a qualifier before making it into the second round of the main draw. In process, Nagal defeated Alexander Bublik in the first round, getting the biggest win of his career.
