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Tennis wunderkind Cho Se-hyuk does it again — this time in Germany

Published: 31 Jul. 2022, 15:54

Cho Se-hyuk, third from left, poses with his trophy after winning the International German Tennis Championships U14 in Dueren, Germany on Saturday. [YONHAP]

After smashing his way through Britain and France, 14-year-old tennis wunderkind Cho Se-hyuk continued his European tour de force in Germany, winning the International German Tennis Championships U14 on Saturday for his third title in four weeks.

Cho, who entered the tournament as the third seed, beat second seed Nikita Bilozertsev of Ukraine in straight sets — 6-3, 6-4 — on Saturday to take the title in Dueren, Germany.

Cho’s success in Germany comes just two weeks after he won the La Balle Mimosa Loire-Atlantique in La Baule-Escoublac, France, beating Ryo Tabata of Japan, 7-6, 6-3, in the boy's singles finals.

Just a week before that tournament, Cho became Korea's first ever Wimbledon champion, beating American Carel Aubriel Ngounoue in the final of the boys competition in two straight set during the inaugural 14&Under tournament at Wimbledon on July 10 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

The 14&Under Championships was a new event that is part of the official Wimbledon competition. The age limit for the boy's championship at Wimbledon was 18 and under until last year. From this year, the inaugural 14&Under Championships allowed boys aged 14 and under to compete in a separate event.

Cho is currently the top-ranked junior player in the Asian Tennis Federation, with an International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior world ranking of No. 934, although as of press time that number had not been updated to reflect his most recent victory. The Junior world rankings cover all players under the age of 18.

Cho isn’t the only Korean youth player that has had a busy month.

Lee Ha-eum, who reached the semifinals of the girl’s doubles tournament at La Balle Mimosa Loire-Atlantique with Leticia Marangoni of Brazil, went on to win both the singles and doubles titles at Tournoi Loire Vallee in Blois, France last week.

Lee beat No. 6 seed Meline Lataste of France in the final of the singles tournament, and doubled up with Sofia Kryvoruchko of Ukraine in the doubles tournament to beat Micaela Moro Pluess and Yleymi Lugiana Muelle Valdez of Peru.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]