The story of Kwon Soon-Woo can easily be the plot of a sports movie. He has had a unique tennis journey so far and has even reached No. 52 on the rankings in 2021. He had managed to make it back to the same rank in 2023 but wasn’t able to maintain it for long. Soon-Woo’s rankings dropped soon after, and if this wasn’t enough, then he even had to halt his career in order to complete the mandatory 18 months of military service in December of 2024.

The 28-year-old was only able to compete in Challenger tournaments thanks to special permissions from the Athletic Corps of the South Korean Armed Forces. However, Soon-Woo’s performances have improved drastically, and he has already bagged three Challenger titles. This includes triumphs in Phan Thiet, Gwangju, and Wuxi. These wins saw him make his way back into the 200, and he has now secured a spot in the 2026 Wimbledon qualifiers.

What’s really impressive here is the fact that Soon-Woo has done all this while alternating between military drills and Challenger events. This is due to the South Korean law, which states that all able men between the ages of 18 and 35 should complete a mandatory military service that lasts for 18 to 21 months. Even top South Korean celebrities, pop stars, political figures, and more have to serve their time in the military. However, there are some athletes who have earned exemptions through their monumental success.

Though his military service won’t be completed anytime soon, Soon-Woo will still be granted permission to feature at Wimbledon and can likely be the only South Korean player playing the Grand Slam this year. This just shows that there is a genuine belief that Soon-Woo can make it to the main draw of The Championships. If Soon-Woo continues to go like this, then he can even make it to the qualifiers list of the US Open later this year.

Notably, Soon-Woo had opened up on the challenges that come with alternating between military and tennis after winning the Phan Thiet Challenger in January.

“I’m really happy to win this title. It hasn’t been easy to travel overseas while serving in the military, so I’m very thankful to the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps for their support and consideration, which made it possible for me to compete again,” he had said after his victory in the final.

This is a developing story…