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South Korean tennis star Soonwoo Kwon has apologized for his behavior at the 2023 Asian Games.
On Monday, September 25, Kwon took on Thailand’s Samrej Kasidit at the quadrennial event in Hangzhou, China. The fourth seed, who was one of the favorites for the gold medal, lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to the World No. 636.
Disappointed with the shock defeat, the 25-year-old smashed his racket on the court's surface and against a chair, breaking it into pieces. He also refused to shake hands with both the chair umpire and his opponent. His actions drew a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Reflecting on his actions, Kwon took to social media to post an apology.
"Hello, this is tennis player Kwon Sunwoo. Immediately after the end of the second round of the Asian Games Tennis Fasting Match with Kasidit Samrez, he did something reckless that he should not have done as a national team player. I sincerely apologize to all the people who supported the national team's game and to the crowd at the stadium. I'm sorry," he said. (Translated from Korean)
He further said that he regrets his actions and will strive to improve when representing his country on the international stage going forward.
"Once again, I sincerely apologize to Samrej who was offended by my rude behavior. 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," he added.
Soonwoo Kwon's injury-troubled 2023: A recap
Soonwoo Kwon has had a troubled season on the ATP tour this year. He started 2023 on a high at the Adelaide International 2, where he won his second career title by defeating the likes of Tomas Machac, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Mikael Ymer, Jack Draper, and Roberto Bautista-Agut.
Since then, however, things have only lgone down hill for the South Korean. He made opening-round exits at the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open and couldn't go past the second round (lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina) at the Qatar Open.
Kwon missed the entire claycourt swing, including the French Open, and grass season, including the Wimbledon Championships, due to injury. He made his return at the US Open, where he crashed out in the opening round.
