Former World No. 52 Forced To Put Career On Hold After Being Called For Military Service
News
Soonwoo Kwon's chances of enjoying a memorable career on the ATP Tour have been damaged after the Korean was called for mandatory military service.
Korea does not have a long history of producing high-ranked tennis players, meaning Kwon stands out in the country's history, and his achievements to date are ones to be very proud of.
Kwon won his first Grand Slam main draw match at the 2020 US Open, a tournament that is remembered for no fans attending because of COVID-19 restrictions. He lost in the second round to Denis Shapovalov.
The 27-year-old's best Grand Slam result came at the 2021 French Open, reaching the third round. Kwon managed a memorable victory in the opening round against Kevin Anderson before beating Andreas Seppi in the second.
He was also competitive against Matteo Berrettini in the round of 32. The Italian triumphed 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, but the match was closer than the score suggests, with all three sets being close.
Kwon has also won two ATP Tour titles. The first came at the Astana Open in September 2021, where he defeated James Duckworth in the final after victories against Evgeny Donskoy, Dusan Lajovic, Laslo Djere, and Alexander Bublik.
His second title occurred at the Adelaide International in January 2023. Kwon's 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 triumph in the final against Roberto Bautista Agut was one of that year's best and most underrated finals.
Unfortunately for the Korean, the possibility of having to put his career on hold because of being called for mandatory military service has been hanging over him for a considerable period.
Kwon's only hope of avoiding that fate was winning a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games. That achievement would have led to him being granted an exemption from the mandatory military service for able-bodied people aged 18 to 28.
However, those hopes were damaged by a severe shoulder injury that Kwon had just returned from when he competed at the Asian games. He lost in the second round and angrily smashed his racket afterward.
That furious episode from Kwon was almost certainly related to him losing his one hope of avoiding mandatory military service. The two-time ATP title winner will now be away from tennis for 18 months starting next year.
Although a devastating blow to his career, Kwon attempted to be positive in his public words about it. He has much more he hopes to achieve and vowed to come back stronger once his military service is complete.
"My tour life will stop for nearly two years, but I’ll be back in the second quarter with a more perfect form while you wait.Many people say that it's too late to start over at 30 and that it's hard to start over on tour... For me, 30 is my prime and I'm confident."
"I've only achieved 20 percent of my goals. I will definitely achieve what all tennis fans want for Korean tennis. I will do my best until I achieve it, so please look forward to it."
