[스포츠조선 윤진만 기자]Son Hayun (17), a promising tennis player and daughter of professional soccer player Son Seung-jun, former coach of the Korea Football Association, lifted the trophy again on the Spanish stage. Son Hayun won the 2024 match against Marta Jaume (Spain) held in Villena, Spain on the 9th. He won the ITF J30 World Tennis Tour Junior Singles final with a set score of 2-0 (6-4 6-0). The ITF World Tennis Tour junior division (under 18 years old) is the gateway to becoming a professional player.”); Son Hayun, the only Korean player who participated in this tournament, defeated Mar Carmona (Spain, 2-0 win) from the first round to the semifinals. , Noah Brisa (Spain, won 2-0), Anna Boron (England, won 2-0), and Aranai Quintana (Spain, won 2-1) to reach the finals and kiss the trophy. Paired with Moros (Spain), he won the doubles at the J30 Tournament and showed off his spirit by successfully achieving a ‘double’ in singles.
As a result, Hayoon Son achieved the feat of winning titles in all J30, J60, and J100 this year. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) changed the category classification of the ITF World Tennis Tour International Junior Competition starting from the 2023 season. The existing grade 5 (J5) was renamed to J30, grade 4 (J4) to J60, grade 3 (J3/B3) to J100, and grade A to J500. The number next to J refers to the points that can be earned in the competition. Son Ha-yoon, who won three singles titles and two doubles titles in Spain, rose 45 places in the world tennis junior rankings compared to last September to rank 349.
It is an achievement of great significance. According to tennis officials, Korean junior players usually compete in European competitions after earning points on the Asian stage to gain rankings, but Son Hayun won the trophy by directly competing in the European tour. Hayoon Son, who started playing tennis in the fourth grade of elementary school, went to study abroad in Spain last year to become a star like her role model Emma Raducanu (United Kingdom). It is known that this is the first time that a Korean junior player has won the J30, J60, and J100 competitions.
After winning the singles event, Ha-yoon Son left a dignified comment on her personal social network service, saying, “This is a precious result that proves that the efforts so far have never been in vain,” and “Let’s take another step in silence.” Ha-yoon Son is the daughter of Seung-jun Son, a former soccer player. It’s famous. Coach Son Seung-jun is a former youth representative and played as a defender for Suwon Samsung, Jeonbuk Hyundai, and Henan Jianye during his active career. After retirement, he served as a full-time coach for the association and focused on nurturing promising players, while also devoting himself both materially and spiritually to his daughter, who started playing tennis.
Reporter Yoon Jin-man [email protected]