London: Kwon Soon-woo has marked his return to Wimbledon with an opening-round victory. The South Korean defeated Martin Landaluce of Spain in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, to begin the men's singles competition at All England Lawn Tennis Club.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kwon, ranked world No. 200, had to win three qualifying matches to reach the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. This was his first Wimbledon appearance since losing in the first round in 2024. Kwon's last victory at Wimbledon occurred in the first round of the 2021 event.

Kwon, who once reached as high as 52nd in the world rankings, has seen his career impacted by injuries. He is currently serving his military duty with the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps. This year, Kwon has shown signs of recovery, winning three tournaments on the Challenger Tour and qualifying for Wimbledon.

In Monday's match, Kwon hit 18 winners compared to Landaluce's nine and broke his opponent once in the first set. In the second set, Kwon converted both of his break points and took advantage of eight unforced errors by Landaluce. The third set saw Landaluce commit 13 unforced errors, while Kwon made only two.

In the second round, Kwon is set to face Tommy Paul, the 25th-ranked American. Paul won their only previous encounter in 2022.