Jung Hyun is returning a shot from Ernesto Escobedo in the first round of the men's singles at the US Open, the last major tennis tournament of the season, held on August 27 last year (local time) at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, USA. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Chung Hyeon (24, Korea National Sport University, ranked 139) will not participate in the Davis Cup qualifiers held in March. As a result, his participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is also expected to become practically difficult.
Chung Hyeon's name was omitted from the March Davis Cup roster recently announced by the Korea Tennis Association.
The Korea Tennis Association has regulations requiring national team players to wear Adidas apparel and shoes, the association's sponsor. However, Chung Hyeon has sponsorship contracts with Lacoste for apparel and Nike for shoes.
Regarding this, Chung Hyeon's agency IMG Korea stated, "Although we requested permission to wear personal sponsor products during matches even if he wears the association's clothes at official events such as press conferences, the request was denied. The association says covering the logo is sufficient, but for professional tennis players, sponsors are important, and we believe that covering logos does not align with global standards."
Chung Hyeon, who cannot participate in the Davis Cup, now faces uncertainty regarding his participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
To compete in the Olympics, players are required to have participated in the Davis Cup, the men's national tennis team competition, at least three times. Chung Hyeon participated twice in the Davis Cup in 2017 but has not participated since, thus failing to meet the eligibility criteria.
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