Hyeon Chung, 26, will return to competition at the Challenger Seoul Open next week, taking part in his first singles tournament since Roland Garros 2020. Hyeon underwent another minor back surgery in January 2021, missing three years competition and hoping for a fresh start at home.
In 2015, Hyeon had 12 ATP wins as a teenager and finished just outside the top 50.. He lost ground a year later due to injuries and dropped out of the top-100.
Chung played well on clay in 2017 and re-entered the top-50 in the summer, setting even higher goals. Hyeon closed the season with the ATP Next Gen Finals title and reaped a boost of energy.
The Korean started the 2018 season perfectly and qualified for the Australian Open semi-final. Chung ruled out Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic before retiring in the semi-final clash against Roger Federer with a huge blister.
Hyeon Chung will play his first singles tournament since Roland Garros 2020.
Hyeon entered the top 20, but couldn’t keep up that pace for the rest of the season. The Korean has missed almost the entire clay and grass season due to a leg injury.
Chung only played in Munich and Madrid and made a slow comeback in Atlanta at the end of July, struggling to regain winning form and pace. The ranking level was still there, but the results weren’t there!
Hyeon only won nine matches at the end of the season and ended it early due to blisters on his right foot. Still ranked in the top 25 thanks to his points at the Australian Open, the Korean spent the offseason in Thailand, working on his physical strength and developing tools to play more aggressively in 2019 and avoid injury.
Exploring solutions to her blistering problems, Hyeon also experienced back pain for months. Unable to do anything to make them disappear, Chung only played five matches in 2019 and stayed away from the courts between February and August!
With just 45 points earned in the first five months, the Korean dropped out of the top-150 for the first time since February 2015. He improved his position slightly after winning the Chengdu title on his return to the courts.
Furthermore, Chung reached the third round of the US Open and the quarter-finals in Tokyo, remaining outside the top 100, but getting into a stable starting position in view of 2020. However, Hyeon did not was able to produce his best tennis and lost all four of his Challenger matches between March and September.
Chung failed to qualify for Roland Garros at the end of September and missed the rest of the season. Hyeon had surgery in early 2021 and hasn’t played since, hoping for a fresh start next week..
2023-04-18 23:00:44
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