Chung Hyun (27) returned to the court in late April at the Seoul Open Challenger. On July 23, it was confirmed that he has applied to play in three grass court tournaments (men’s singles) this season, including the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 3.
First, Chung applied to qualify for the ATP Challenger Tour event (125), the Surbiton Trophy ($145,000), which will be held June 5-11 in Surbiton, England. Surbiton is located near Wimbledon.
Chung has no ATP Tour singles ranking due to a long injury layoff. However, he does have a Protected Ranking of 159th, which means he can still play in several tournaments.
Chung’s name is on the finalized qualifying list for the men’s singles event at the Servitone Trophy. Homepage capture
A protected ranking is a “protective ranking” that an ATP or WTA player can request if they are physically injured and unable to compete for at least six months. They can use it to play between nine and 12 tour events.
Therefore, Jeong skipped the French Open, which starts on April 28, and applied for the Servitone Trophy, which is held during the grass court season. This is the same Challenger event that Kwon Soon-woo also competed in last May.
On the 23rd, Chung was confirmed as one of the 20 qualifiers for the Servitone Trophy. The qualifiers ranged from world No. 127 Alexander Vukic (Austria) to No. 197.
Chung Hyun (right) plays with junior Kwon Soon-woo during their doubles quarterfinal match at the 2022 ATP Tour Korea Open at Olympic Park Court in Seoul on Sept. 30 last year. Yonhap
Chung will then skip a week and compete in the ATP Challenger Tour event (125) “Ilkley Trophy” ($145,000 prize money) in Ilkley, England, from June 18-24. Entries are due by the end of the month, and Chung’s name is on the preliminary list.
After playing two grass-court seasonal events to tune up his form, Chung will also compete in the men’s singles qualifiers for Wimbledon 2023, which begins on July 3 in London, England. There are 128 players (including nine wildcards) in the qualifying field, and Chung is currently ranked 28th. Hong (41st) and Chung (86th) are also on the reserve list.
Wimbledon is no stranger to Jeong. He finished runner-up in the junior men’s singles event in 2013.
“It is true that I am preparing for the 안전놀이터 grass court tournament,” his representative said on April 22, “but I need to find a trainer and I don’t have a coach. I also need to coordinate with my manager. I also don’t have a departure schedule yet.”
Jeong, who also competed in the Busan Open Challenger on Sept. 9, was knocked out in the first round of singles. He has since been training at his alma mater, Korea Gymnastics University, and at the courts of the nearby Seoul Olympic Park with fellow junior Lee Deok-hee.
Jung made his return to the court after a long hiatus last September as a doubles wildcard at the ATP Tour 2022 Korea Open.
Jung’s mother, Kim Young-mi, told Sports Seoul, “He regained his confidence by playing the Seoul Open and Busan Open. It’s a good thing he can think about playing overseas tournaments after unlocking his protected ranking. The manager is preparing. We will make an announcement soon.”
Hyeon Chung defeated Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles round of 16 at the 2018 Australian Open. Korea Tennis Association
At the 2018 Australian Open, Chung skyrocketed to stardom by reaching the men’s singles quarterfinals, the highest finish by a South Korean player in Grand Slam history. He defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 and faced Roger Federer in the quarterfinals before retiring in the second set with a plantar injury. Since then, he has been hampered by a nagging back injury.
The last time Chung won an ATP Tour event was in the first round of the French Open men’s singles qualifiers in September 2020.