The Korean men's tennis team secured a bronze medal in the team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On September 20, at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya, Japan, Korea lost to Taiwan in the men's team event semifinals with a match score of 1-2.
There is no separate third-place playoff in the Asian Games tennis events, so Korea concluded its team competition with a bronze medal after the semifinal defeat.
The team event consists of three matches: doubles, singles, and doubles. In the semifinals against Taiwan, the first doubles pair of Lee Hyun-gwon and Park Jae-kyu (both from Eumseong County Office) started poorly, losing 3-5 in just eight games.
However, the team's star player, Kim Jin-woong (Suwon City Hall), leveled the match by winning the second singles match 4-3 after a fierce contest.
Unfortunately, the final doubles match saw Korea falter, as Kim Hyun-soo (Daejeon Dong-gu Office) and Lee Ha-neul (Suncheon City Hall) failed to win a single game, losing 0-5 to the Taiwanese pair.
Tennis in this context uses a lighter, softer rubber ball compared to a tennis ball. Doubles matches are played to 9 games, while singles matches are played to 7 games.
Korea has long been a dominant force in tennis on the Asian stage. Since the sport was officially adopted at the 1994 Hiroshima Games, Korea has claimed 26 of the 40 gold medals awarded. The men's team also won gold at the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
However, following a joint bronze medal finish in both the men's and women's team events at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, Korea has again settled for bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The women's team also received a bronze medal after losing to Taiwan in their earlier semifinal match.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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