In a surprising turn of events, two unheralded South Korean tennis players made a splash in front of their home crowd during the first-round matches at the Hana Bank Korea Open in Seoul.
Dayeon Back, a wild card entry, managed an impressive comeback after falling behind 5-2 in the third set, ultimately defeating the second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko with a score of 3-6, 6-1, and 7-6 (4) in an intense match that lasted two hours and 13 minutes.
Meanwhile, Su-Jeong Jang pulled off a stunning victory by ousting Sofia Kenin, the tournament’s fifth seed, with a score of 6-1, 6-4 in just 91 minutes. This win marked the first career victory over a Top 30 opponent for Jang, who is ranked 162nd in the world.
In Dayeon Back’s case, ranked at No. 569, she employed a strategy that forced Ostapenko into long rallies, accumulating unforced errors. Ostapenko finished the match with 68 unforced errors and 43 winners.
The Hana Bank Korea Open witnessed the first instance of two South Korean players securing their opening-round victories on home soil since 2013.
Despite these upsets, top-seeded Jessica Pegula managed to avoid the upset bug, defeating Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia with a score of 6-2, 6-4. Fourth-seeded Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic also progressed in the WTA 250 event.
The triumph of these little-known South Korean players against seasoned opponents has added an unexpected element of excitement to the Hana Bank Korea Open in Seoul.
