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He beat Djokovic and Zverev, then disappeared from the sport

Originally posted on HITC | By Cameron Greenlees | Last updated Dec 6, 2025 11:07 AM ET

Things don’t always go according to plan for some athletes, and there are plenty of reasons for that.

Injuries or personal problems can turn a promising career into a story of missed opportunities, leaving fans to wonder what could have been if things had gone differently.

Nick Kyrgios is one name that often comes up in these conversations. While his talent was never in doubt, questions around his commitment and injury troubles kept him from reaching his full potential.

Andy Murray is another example. People often wonder how much more he might have achieved if he hadn’t played during the same era as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

But former American player Sam Querrey has someone else in mind – a player who he says completely disappeared from the sport after showing so much promise early on.

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for ITF

Sam Querrey points to Chung Hyeon as tennis’s biggest ‘What If’

“Just because he made the semifinals of the Australian Open, got that crazy blister on his foot and then like vanished off the face of the earth, and he was like 22 years old.

Chung burst onto the scene in 2018, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 19 that same year. His run to the semi-finals at Melbourne Park included wins over Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.

“I think everyone had him pencilled in as a guy who was gonna be like top 10 for a while and then, like, where is the dude? I don’t know what happened to him.”

“How many more majors could he have had, you know what I mean?”

Chung Hyeon’s career path after the 2018 Australian Open

Chung Hyeon made a big impression early in his career, winning the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2018 by beating Andrey Rublev in the final.

The following year, he went on a remarkable run at the Australian Open, defeating Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic to reach the semifinals.

In that semifinal against Roger Federer, Chung was forced to retire in the second set due to severe foot blisters.

The Korean then broke into the top-20 and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 19. But a season plagued by injuries saw him drop outside of the top 150 soon after.

After two years away from competition, he returned in 2022, playing doubles at the Korea Open before making his singles return at a Challenger event in Seoul, though he lost his opening match there.

Since then, Chung has played primarily on the Challenger Tour and is currently ranked world No. 368.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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