From Korea's junior No. 1 to the pro tour

Kim Yujin (born 10 June 2005) is a Korean tennis player on the ITF World Tennis Tour. A right-hander with a two-handed backhand, she plays an aggressive baseline game built on a heavy forehand — a style that has set her apart on the Korean women's circuit since her junior days. She represents Chungnam Provincial Office, trains at the ASICS Tennis Academy under coach Woo Chung-hyo, and is managed by DRENCH.

She was winning national titles at ten: between 2015 and 2017 she swept the Korean U10 and U12 circuit, taking the Student Championships, the Junior Championships and the Elementary Federation events in both singles and doubles. At thirteen she went international, winning the Asia U14 Junior Series in Gimcheon, the Lee Duk-hee Cup and the Lee Hyung-taik Foundation event (singles and doubles) in 2018, and the doubles at both legs of the 2019 Asian U14 Championships.

At fourteen she won the U16 singles at the 2019 National Student Championships, then took the U16 singles and doubles double at the 2020 National Junior Championships while anchoring her school to three team titles — the Minister of Culture Cup, the President's Cup and the Sogang Cup. In 2021 she moved to IMG Academy in Florida on a full scholarship.

From there she took on the ITF junior circuit across the Americas, Europe and Asia: a semi-final at the J500 in Mérida and a doubles title in Santo Domingo in 2022, the final of the J300 Hana Securities Wanju in 2023, and junior Grand Slam qualifying at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon the same year. She won the Jangho Hong Jong-mun Cup in 2022 and 2023, and in October 2023 stood at No. 49 in the ITF Junior world rankings and No. 1 among Korean juniors — the point at which she turned professional.

Her first pro trophies came in doubles at W15 Sharm El Sheikh (December 2023 and November 2024), alongside a semi-final at W15 Toyama and qualifying at the WTA 500 Korea Open in 2024. In 2025 she reached the final at W15 Sapporo in June and won her first singles title at W15 Singapore in August, beating Haruna Arakawa 7-6(3) 6-4. In 2026 she won W15 Yeongwol from a set down in four straight matches, added the W15 Singapore doubles title with Fang An-lin, and reached the second round of the W100 Incheon main draw — her best result at that level.

At 21, with five ITF titles, a WTA ranking inside the top 800 and an attacking game that travels, she is one of the most promising players of her generation in Korea. Her stated goals are a WTA top-300 ranking and the Grand Slam stage.