Soonwoo Kwon has been a fairly solid player for much of his career yet his tennis is not looking good as of recently.
Kwon, who only recently confirmed his relationship with former K-pop star Wonder Girls Yubin, has been struggling with his tennis a lot lately, and it showed at the Asian Games, where he vented his frustration.
It's a strange development because he achieved the best result of his career earlier this year by beating Roberto Bautista Agut in the Adelaide 2 final. It was a remarkable conclusion because he actually lost in the qualifiers but entered the draw as a lucky loser, ending up with the trophy.
Things started to fall apart after that as he struggled with injuries, especially a shoulder injury that ultimately kept him out for six months. He returned at the US Open but lost that match, losing a couple more matches after that.
The literal low point came at the Asian Games recently where Kwon was competing for South Korea. He lost to world number 636, Kasidit Samrej, in a match that everyone expected him to win comfortably.
What ensued after was a rather bad look for the player, who smashed his racquet violently on the court and against his chair, refusing to shake his opponent's hand. Samrej Kasidit patiently waited for him to shake hands, but Kwon refused twice, as the Thai player actually approached him once more when he was leaving the court, but Kwon was uninterested.
The move was harshly criticized in his native South Korea, where politeness and respect are greatly valued, making his move disgraceful to his compatriots. The player released a handwritten apology not long after this incident, apologizing for his behaviour.
"I sincerely regret and reflect on the actions that were seen after the match. As a national athlete representing the country, I will reflect on the weight of the actions carefully and be a responsible athlete, and pay attention to all actions. Once again my sincere apologies to all the sports lovers."
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