'US Open Champion' Cilic Comes to Seoul... From Kwon Sun-woo and Chung Hyeon to 17-year-old Cho Min-hyuk, the "Largest Ever" Seoul Open Unfolds

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2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic (38, Croatia) and South Korea's men's tennis flagbearers Kwon Sun-woo and Chung Hyeon will share the same stage in Seoul this fall.

The 2026 Eugene Investment & Securities Seoul Open Challenger Tennis Tournament (hereinafter referred to as the Seoul Open) will be held for eight days from the 25th to November 1 at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center.

Now in its 10th edition, the Seoul Open has been upgraded from Challenger 100 to Challenger 125 last year. The total prize money has also increased to $225,000 (approximately 3.3 billion won), making it the largest-scale tournament in history.

Seventeen-year-old Cho Min-hyuk (Namwon-based SC), who passed the domestic promising player selection round, has also received a main draw wildcard and will appear on the same bracket as Cilic.

Since its inaugural event in 2015, the Seoul Open has been held annually at the Olympic Park Tennis Center, excluding 2020 and 2021. This year, it will proceed with the Challenger 125 category, one step higher than last year. It is the first time since 2023 that the Seoul Open is being held in the Challenger 125 category.

The total prize money has increased by more than 40% from $160,000 last year. The singles winner will receive a prize of $33,650 (approximately 45 million won) and 125 ATP ranking points. Thirty-two players in the main draw and 24 in the qualifying round will compete in singles, while 16 teams will compete in doubles.

The most eye-catching name is undoubtedly Cilic.

Among the direct entry list for the main draw announced by the ATP on the 7th last month, nine players ranked between 80th and 120th in the world were included. Of these, Cilic is a veteran who reached the top of the 2014 US Open, achieved a career-high world ranking of 3rd, and has recorded 21 wins on the ATP Tour.

In 2024, he climbed to the top of the Hangzhou Open while ranked 777th in the world, setting an ATP Tour record for the lowest-ranked winner. Early this year at the Dallas Open, he also achieved his 600th career win. Currently ranked 80th in the world, he is a strong candidate to be the No. 1 seed in this tournament.

Coleman Wong (Hong Kong, 101st), the runner-up of last year's Seoul Open, will also return to Seoul.

Wong defeated Wei Bing (China, 113rd) 6-2, 6-4 in the men's singles final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which ended earlier this month, winning the first-ever Asian Games men's singles gold medal in Hong Kong tennis history.

In August this year, he became the first Hong Kong player to enter the top 100 in world rankings. Wei Bing, his opponent in the Asian Games final, will also participate in the Seoul Open, making a rematch between the two players possible.

Three players with previous Seoul Open titles will also compete.

Shimabukuro Sho (Japan, 109th), who started from the qualifying round last year and rose to the top, is challenging for a second consecutive title. The 2023 champion Bu Yinchaoke (China, 93rd) and the 2019 champion Kwon Sun-woo will also advance directly to the main draw.

Left-handed Terence Atmane (France, 99th), who reached the semifinals of last year's Cincinnati Masters, is also considered a strong contender for the title.

The challenges by South Korean players are also drawing attention.

Kwon Sun-woo (National COLONY Military Unit, 161st), the winner of the 2019 Seoul Open, successfully secured a direct entry to the main draw by raising his world ranking from 350th in April this year to 161st in just half a year.

Kwon Sun-woo, who became the first South Korean player to win two ATP Tour singles titles and reached a world ranking of 52nd, returns to the center court where he lifted the trophy seven years ago.

Chung Hyeon (Gimpo City Gymnasium, 558th), who wrote the legend of reaching the semifinals of the 2018 Australian Open, will start from the qualifying round. If he wins two matches in the qualifying round held over two days starting on the 25th, he will advance to the main draw.

Kwon Sun-woo and Chung Hyeon faced each other for the first time in the quarterfinals of the Gwangju Open Challenger in April last year. At that time, Kwon Sun-woo won a comeback victory with scores of 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The 25th, the first day of qualifying, will be operated as "Korean Player's Day." Matches featuring South Korean players, including Chung Hyeon and Kim Tae-woo (ATA), the runner-up of the Next Gen Invitational, will be concentrated in the schedule, and cheering contests will take place in the stands.

The challenge by "17-year-old promising player" Cho Min-hyuk is also catching the eye.

From August 3 to 7 last month, the Seoul Open Organizing Committee invited eight domestic promising players under the age of 18 to Haevichi Hotel & Resort Gangdong Tennis Club in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, and held the "Eugene Investment & Securities Next Gen Invitational Road to Seoul Open."

In the final, Cho Min-hyuk defeated same-age Kim Tae-woo 6-3, 6-3 to secure a main draw wildcard. Kim Tae-woo was given a qualifying round wildcard.

Born in 2009, Cho Min-hyuk is the youngest player among the 32nd in the main draw. There is a whopping 21-year age gap with the oldest player, Cilic. In 2014, when Cilic reached the top of the US Open, Cho Min-hyuk was only five years old.

The competition among promising players under the age of 20 is also a highlight.

Sakamoto Rei (Japan, 137th), ranked 7th in the race, and Jan Kumstath (Czech Republic, 191st), ranked 10th, who are competing for qualification to the ATP Next Gen Finals to be held in Italy in December, will participate in the Seoul Open.

Since the gap between 4th and 10th place in the current Next Gen race is only 75 points, the 125th points awarded to the Seoul Open winner could change the direction of the competition for Finals qualification.

This year's Seoul Open has prepared various events with the goal of being a "tennis festival" that fans can enjoy together.

Kim Eun-seop, President of the Seoul Metropolitan Tennis Association, stated, "I wanted to create an opportunity for enthusiasts who pick up their rackets on the court every weekend to watch and enjoy matches by world-class players up close," adding, "We will prepare so that the Olympic Park Tennis Center becomes a stage for a fall tennis festival."

From the 25th, when qualifying begins, to the 29th, when the second round of the main draw is held, designated seats such as R-seats and S-seats are priced at 20,000 won or less to lower the barrier to entry for spectators.

Fan signing sessions with participating players will be held on the afternoons of the 31st and November 1, and official goods utilizing the colors of the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the Seoul city character "Haechi" will also be unveiled for the first time.

Title sponsor Eugene Investment & Securities will install a main booth at the venue to run promotions. Gold partner Sergio Tacchini and official ball supplier Babolat will also operate sales booths. A lucky draw with a total of 160 prizes, including Babolat rackets and bags, and Kojima massagers, will also be held.

Weekend R-seat spectators can use the Champions Lounge, where they can enjoy Bok Sundog makgeolli (rice wine) and Graz Coffee. Welcome gifts consisting of partner company products will be provided to those who purchase weekend designated seats or higher tickets.

Tickets can be reserved on NOL Ticket, and sales will also begin at the venue box office from the 25th. All matches will be broadcast live worldwide via ATP Challenger TV.

The Seoul Open is hosted by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and the Korea Tennis Association, and organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Tennis Association. It is supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, and the Seoul Metropolitan Sports Council.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original