Kwon Soon-woo drops out of U.S. Open with thigh injury

Korean tennis player Kwon Soon-woo made an early exit at the U.S. Open as he retired during the first round due to a thigh injury at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Monday.

Playing his first game against Hugo Dellien of Bolivia, Kwon got off to a slow start as he lost the first two sets 3-6 and 4-6. However, he made a comeback in the third set, winning 6-2.

While leading the fourth set 3-2, Kwon called for a medical timeout as he felt pain in his thigh. Although he came back on to the court after the timeout, he wasn’t able to continue the match and withdrew.

Kwon entered the U.S. Open as the highest ranked Korean player, at 90. This was his first ever appearance at the tournament.

Chung Hyeon, the Korean player who took the tennis world by storm last year when he beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Australian Open, entered the competition ranked at N0. 170.

Chung struggled with injuries throughout 2018 and for the first half of this season, causing his ranking to plummet. As of press time, Chung was due to play his first round game against Ernesto Escobedo of the United States at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, New York time.

By Kang Yoo-rim