Jeong Hyeon (26), who has been fading away from memory as a ‘forgotten star’ from the hero of the Australian Open tennis semifinal, will return to the men’s professional tennis (ATP) singles stage in Korea.
Jung Hyun’s comeback stage is the ATP Seoul Open Challenger, which opens on the 24th. It is the first time in about two years and seven months since the French Open qualifier in September 2020 that Chung Hyeon will play in singles.
An official from the Seoul Tennis Association, which organizes the tournament, said in a phone call with the <Busan Ilbo> on the 19th, “Jung Hyun will participate in the Seoul Open Challenger singles match, which will open on the 24th.” Chung, who currently has no ATP tour rankings, will receive a wild card and participate.
In the Challenger Tournament, which has a lower rating than the Tour, players in the top 100 usually compete to raise their rankings. The winner of the Seoul Open Challenger is awarded 125 ATP ranking points. It is the highest level among challenger competitions, with a total prize money of 160,000 dollars (approximately 210 million won) and a prize money of 21,650 dollars.
Jung Hyun, who debuted on the ATP tour in 2014, has been on tour with world-class skills for a while, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open singles, a major tournament in 2018, the best Korean player ever. However, since 2020, Jung Hyeon has been suffering from a chronic back injury, and has been concentrating on rehabilitation without participating in competitions since. 메이저사이트
Chung’s 19th place in the ATP Tour rankings in April 2018 remains the highest record for a Korean player. The current Korean tennis ace, Kwon Soon-woo (25), ranked 52nd in November 2021 as the highest ranking.
In this tournament, which will be held at Seoul Olympic Tennis Stadium until the 30th, many players in the top 100 such as Max Purcell (88th, Australia), Christopher Eubanks (90th, USA), and Jordan Thompson (91st, Australia) are on the list of participants. I put my name on it.
In Korea, Hong Seong-chan (25, 200th place) will go directly to the finals. Jung Yun-seong, Nam Ji-seong, Lee Deok-hee, etc. aim to advance to the finals through the preliminary round. Kwon Soon-woo (77th) will not participate in this competition.