The eventual winner of the 2023 NH Bank International Women’s Tennis Tour (Nonghyup Challenger) was Korean-American Hannah Jang (USA, ranked 349th in the world). She won her first ITF Tour event in her parents’ country in four years.
On April 28, she defeated Manichaya Sawangkaew (Thailand, World No. 392) 6-2 6-4 in the singles final of the Nonghyup Challenger 2023 at the Yeolmul Stadium Indoor Tennis Court in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.
It was a day where all of Jang’s attacking options were on display. Powerful strokes from the baseline, slicing drop shots to take control, and even a turning lob after drawing her opponent forward, Jang’s strokes fell into the court every time.
After taking the first set with ease, Jang was broken twice in the early stages of the second set to fall behind 2-4. But that was it. Hanna’s attacks from all 먹튀검증sides of the court left Sawang Kau unable to fight back.
Hanna won her fifth career ITF Tour title today. Her last title came at the 2019 Acadia Tour in the United States (W15K) before COVID-19. This is Jang’s first win at the W25K level.
“I’m so happy right now, I don’t know what to say. I’m proud of myself because I’ve been playing better and better. It was a little bit difficult because it rained at the end (traveling to different locations). I’m grateful to all the organizers for making it a good tournament and for their hard work.”
Her father, Mr. Jang Jun-ho, who accompanied her throughout the tournament and sat in the coach’s seat, said, “Every match was a struggle. I’m proud of her for overcoming that, even though she didn’t play the way she wanted to at the beginning of the tournament.” “I’m going to take a good rest today. I haven’t decided what we’ll have for dinner yet,” she laughed. Jang will next compete at the ITF Changwon Tour next week.
Meanwhile, the match was held at the indoor courts of Incheon’s Yeolwum Stadium instead of the All-Won Tennis Center at Nonghyup University in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do due to rain.
The 2023 NH Bank International Women’s Tennis Tour (W25K), now in its 14th year, was organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Korea Tennis Association, and hosted by NH Bank. Visiting the court, Byung-kyu Park, Senior Vice President of NH Bank, said, “We hope that this tournament will serve as a cornerstone for the players to grow into world-class players.” “We will continue to spare no effort to expand the base of tennis and improve the playing environment.” On the day, Nonghyup Bank awarded scholarships to Lee Soo-bin (Osan G-Sports Club) and Kim Yeo-kyung (Jungang Girls’ High School), two promising domestic tennis players.